Police recover two stolen Renoirs and arrest six suspects before a feared second museum heist

The September theft

The theft took place on 8 September at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, a town near Nice. Investigators say the thieves cut a hole in a garden fence and got inside through a window, using an electric saw to cut through the fence and the clips that held the frames of four paintings. An alarm sounded and police arrived four minutes later, a response that prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said 'apparently caused the perpetrators to panic'. The thieves fled with two works, 'Madame Colonna Romano' and 'Young Woman at the Well' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, valued at about 4.2 million euros ($4.7 million). They abandoned 'Madame Pichon' and 'Coco Reading', which depicts Renoir's young son Claude, in the museum gardens while fleeing.

Surveillance and arrests

Investigators say the principal suspect, a 29-year-old man, visited the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence on 3 October, and police surveillance pointed to a planned second theft at the foundation, which holds a large modern art collection. Bessone said the arrests were prompted by the 'very strong suspicion that another heist was imminent'. Six people were arrested during an operation on 7 October, five men and a woman, according to SudOuest. The suspects denied planning a raid on another museum, but Bessone said he did 'not believe the principal suspect visited that museum simply out of a love of art'. Eric Antonetti, head of the Alpes-Maritimes judicial police, described what investigators saw.

We were very clearly looking at the repetition of a criminal scheme

Recovery and damage

The two paintings were found hidden behind a false wall in a house in the Hérault department, where police searched a property linked to a suspected receiver of the stolen works. Accounts differ on the day of the discovery, with one report giving Friday, 9 October, while others give 8 October. Bryan Masson, mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, said the works were part of the city's history.

These two paintings are not simply works of art. They are part of our city's history

Bessone said 'Madame Colonna Romano' was torn in the area of the dress, while 'Young Woman at the Well' had slight damage to its frame only. Both works need restoration and were transferred to the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation and Restoration of Heritage in Marseille for examination before returning to the museum, the Culture Ministry said. DNA found on the abandoned protective sleeve matched that of a 29-year-old already under investigation in a drug trafficking case, and investigators also relied on mobile phone geolocation data and surveillance footage.

Charges and open questions

Four men have been charged. The two men suspected of carrying out the theft face charges of organised theft and other offences, and were sent to prison pending further investigation. A third man, who acknowledged receiving the paintings at his home after the theft, is charged with organised handling of stolen goods for hiding them behind a wall. A fourth man, whom investigators say was approached about buying the artworks, is charged with handling stolen goods and taking part in a criminal conspiracy. Vehicle tracking showed the 29-year-old, accompanied by a 41-year-old man, drove to the home of the third man shortly after the theft. Lawyers for the 29-year-old said it was not yet possible to tell whether he had planned the operation, and Masson said the museum's security systems will be modernised.