Thieves steal two Renoir paintings worth millions from French Riviera museum after abandoning two during escape

Dawn break-in at Domaine des Collettes

Two intruders broke into the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer near Nice on Tuesday morning, 8 September 2026. The museum is located in the Domaine des Collettes, an estate founded as a museum in 1960 where Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived and worked until his death in 1919. Surveillance cameras recorded at least two perpetrators wearing helmets, gloves, and clothing resembling military uniforms entering the grounds before dawn. The suspects cut through the perimeter fence, crossed the gardens, and entered the artist's former residence by breaching a window. Armed with an electric knife and a metal saw, the intruders cut through the security fixtures holding the painting frames to the walls. The automated Ramsès alarm system triggered at 5:48 AM, notifying emergency dispatchers immediately.

Targeted artworks and recovered canvases

Officers from the municipal and national police reached the estate at 5:53 AM, five minutes after the alarm sounded. The rapid arrival of law enforcement forced the intruders to flee abruptly across the grounds, leaving behind part of their intended haul. The thieves had removed four canvases, with the total group valued at approximately 9 million euros. During their escape through the estate grounds, the perpetrators abandoned two of the artworks in the museum garden. Officers recovered "Portrait de Madame Stephen Pichon", painted around 1895, and "Coco lisant", painted around 1905, which depicts Renoir's youngest son Claude. Two other works, "Madame Colonna Romano" from around 1910 and "Jeune femme au puits" from around 1886, remain missing.

Investigation and municipal security measures

The judicial police and the organized crime unit launched an investigation, collecting forensic evidence and reviewing municipal surveillance camera footage across surrounding access routes. Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer who took office in March, addressed the break-in on social media.

The attack on the Renoir Museum is an attack on a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These acts are of an exceptionally serious nature.

Masson announced that the municipality will urgently implement a comprehensive security plan and allocate dedicated funding to protect local cultural institutions. The Musée Renoir collection preserves 13 original canvases by the painter, alongside original sculptures, photographs, his easel, and his wheelchair.

Recent wave of museum thefts

The break-in in Cagnes-sur-Mer follows multiple high-profile cultural thefts across France over the preceding eleven months. On 19 October 2025, thieves raided the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre in Paris, taking French crown jewels valued at 88 million euros, including a pearl tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie. In July 2026, intruders stole a Celtic gold necklace from the Vix Treasure at a museum in Châtillon-sur-Seine, following another robbery at the Lalique Museum and art thefts in Strasbourg. Europol reported in August 2026 that art theft operations in Europe are increasingly carried out by ad hoc crews recruited through social media channels rather than traditional specialized syndicates. French authorities have alerted regional border controls and international agencies to prevent the transport or sale of the two missing Renoir canvases.