Thieves steal paintings from Renoir Museum on French Riviera

Thieves have stolen three paintings by the French impressionist Renoir worth millions of euros from the Renoir Museum in the South of France, police have said.

Two raiders ‌broke into the museum a little before 6am on Tuesday, taking four paintings, Cagnes-sur-Mer ​mayor Bryan Masson said on his Facebook page.

The thieves dropped one of the paintings as they were chased by police, but escaped with the other three, he said.

Two artworks were dropped, according to regional French newspaper Nice-Matin, which named the stolen paintings as Portrait Of Madame Pichon (1895), Portrait Of Madame Colonna Romano (1910), Coco Reading (1905) and Young Woman At The Well (1886).

All of the paintings are by Renoir and are visible on the museum website. It is not yet clear which painting(s) the thieves abandoned, the paper said.

Mr Masson said ‌attacking ⁠the museum "is attacking ⁠a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These actions are particularly serious".

The museum was created in 1960 in the mansion of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir on a hill ‌in Cagnes-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera near Nice, where he died in 1919.

The collection on display in the museum includes 13 of Renoir's works and some 40 sculptures, pieces of furniture and photographs.

Mr Masson did not identify the ⁠paintings that were stolen.

French newspaper Le Monde, along with other outlets, quoted Mr Masson's office as saying the stolen artworks were worth €9m (£7.7m), but their value has not been confirmed by authorities.

The mayor said the raid began at 5.48am when the museum's alarm went off, and police were on the scene five minutes later, according to Le Monde.

Renoir's most valuable works ​have sold for millions at ​auctions in the past.

Art thieves in Europe are committing ​more violent robberies and specialist gangs have been replaced ⁠by ad hoc opportunists recruited through social media, pan-European police body Europol said last month.

Read more:
Oasis documentary premieres
Baby's world-first treatment
Trump's plane warning to Canada

A prime example of this new trend was last October's break-in at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the agency said.

Thieves threatened guards ​and visitors and stole €88 million (£76m) worth of jewels, such as Empress Eugenie's tiara.

Last month, four Renaissance paintings by 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in Sicily during the country's summer national holiday.

Renoir was one of the leading painters of the Impressionist group. La Loge (1874), La Parisienne (1874) and Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876) are among his best-known pieces, ImpressionistArts website said.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

(c) Sky News 2026: Thieves steal paintings from Renoir Museum on French Riviera