Two people have assaulted the Renoir museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera, very close to Nice, early this Tuesday and have taken four artistic pieces. Three of them remain missing while the French Police maintain a large operation to locate those responsible for the robbery.
"This morning, two individuals entered the Renoir museum and stole four works of art. The museum's alarm was activated at 5:48 a.m. At 5:53 a.m., that is, five minutes later, our Municipal Police were already on the scene," confirmed the mayor of the locality, Bryan Masson, in a message on social media.
In the same communication, the mayor explained that the alleged thieves could be identified thanks to the municipal surveillance cameras. "The two individuals fled, leaving one of the stolen paintings behind during their escape," he specified.
Masson lamented that "attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage" of Cagnes-sur-Mer, emphasizing the seriousness of what happened and the symbolic impact for the municipality.
The mayor believes that this incident highlights the urgency of deploying a specific security plan for museums and reinforcing the protection of the works. "We will put all necessary means to better protect this heritage that belongs to all the inhabitants of Cagnes-sur-Mer," he pointed out.
According to what he added, both the Municipal Police and the French National Police are deployed in the area and continue the search for those involved in the assault. "They are being actively sought and the investigation is ongoing," summarized the mayor of the National Rally.
The museum's collection houses 14 original canvases by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, as well as 40 sculptures, part of the furniture, and his workshop, as it is the house where the impressionist painter lived for the last 12 years of his life. The artist passed away in 1919, at the age of 78, in Cagnes-sur-Mer due to pneumonia.