Three paintings with a value of more than 9 million euros are stolen at the Renoir Museum

BarcelonaNew blow to the artistic heritage in France. Two individuals broke in to steal this Tuesday shortly before six in the morning at the Auguste Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, and fled with three paintings from the museum. The loot, according to municipal sources, could be valued at around 9 million euros.

The museum's alarm was triggered exactly at 5:48 a.m. and the police response was practically immediate: in just five minutes, municipal police officers were already at the scene. Video surveillance cameras captured the suspects and a police chase began, during which the thieves, who were able to escape, got rid of one of the paintings.

The department for the fight against organized crime and specialized delinquency (DCOS) of the French police has taken charge of the investigation and is maintaining a large search operation to locate the thieves. For the moment, no information has been released regarding the stolen paintings.

The mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Bryan Masson, has strongly condemned the assault through social media. "Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of our city's history and heritage," said Masson. The mayor described the events as "particularly serious" and has called for the urgent implementation of a security plan for cultural facilities in the area.

The museum was the last residence of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and the place where he died in 1919. Created in 1960, the museum's halls house a dozen original paintings by the impressionist master, about forty sculptures, as well as documentary collections, photographs, and personal tools of the artist.

This new robbery comes almost a year after the one that took place at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where a gang managed to steal jewelry of incalculable value. A few months ago, Europol published a report warning of a trend shift in Europe. While until now they were used to thieves who study how to take the loot with total discretion and without confrontations, the European police coordination agency warned that there is a new generation of museum robbers who do not hesitate to use force.