Thieves steal paintings worth €9m from Renoir museum

Two thieves stole four valuable Renoir paintings from a small museum on the French Riviera, but abandoned two of them as they fled, the local mayor has said.

Police are searching for the offenders.

Surveillance camera footage identified two people entering the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer and stealing four paintings, the town's mayor, Bryan Masson, said in a statement.

The museum's alarm system went off at 5.48am and police arrived five minutes later, the mayor's statement said.

He told local newspaper Nice-Matin that two of the stolen paintings were found in the museum's garden after the thieves fled.

The stolen works included Portrait Of Madame Colonna Romano, Coco Lisant and Young Girl At The Well, and the overall worth of the stolen paintings is €9m, Nice-Matin reported.

An official with the regional police administration confirmed the theft and said the hunt for suspects is under way.

The official, who was not authorised to be publicly named according to police policy, could not confirm the value of the paintings.

The museum was closed today while the investigation unfolded.

"Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer," the mayor said.

He called for greater security measures for museums around France.

The theft came after crown jewels were stolen in a daytime heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris last year.

The Renoir Museum is housed in the last home of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, where he lived before his death in 1919.

It is the most famous attraction in Cagnes-sur-Mer, situated between Cannes and Nice on the Mediterranean coast.