At least five arrested over Renoir museum theft

At least five people have been arrested in France in connection with the theft of two Pierre‑Auguste Renoir paintings from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes‑sur‑Mer, a suburb of Nice, according to local media reports. Two of the suspects are identified as the alleged burglars involved in the heist. The stolen works are the Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910) and Jeune fille au puits (1886). Both remain missing, while two other pieces taken during the break‑in were abandoned by the thieves as they fled the scene. Investigators say the perpetrators gained entry at dawn on 8 September by cutting through a fence surrounding the museum’s tree‑lined grounds, smashing a window to get inside, and using an electrical saw to sever the frame mountings of the paintings. The incident adds to a recent surge of high‑profile art thefts across Europe that have prompted renewed scrutiny of museum security measures. Nice‑Matin, the newspaper that first reported the arrests, noted that the detained individuals may belong to an organised crime syndicate. Some French outlets, including Nice‑Matin, have reported that the total number of arrests is six, although local prosecutors have declined to confirm any figures when approached by the BBC. The Renoir Museum houses twelve of the artist’s works. Opened in 1960, the venue served as Renoir’s final residence before his death in 1919 and displays personal items such as his easel, wheelchair, photographs and handwritten letters. In August, a depot in Italy was robbed of paintings by Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse in a three‑minute heist; the artworks were later recovered. One of the most prominent thefts of the previous year occurred in October, when France’s crown jewels were taken in broad daylight from the Louvre in Paris. The thieves, posing as construction workers, entered the museum’s first‑floor Apollo Gallery during opening hours, used an angle grinder to pry open display cases and escaped with jewels valued at €88 million (£78 million) that once belonged to 19th‑century queens and empresses. The Louvre subsequently faced criticism for alleged shortcomings in its security investment. Read the full story at BBC News →