Artworks stolen from Renoir Museum on French Riviera in latest heist

Thieves took four artworks but dropped one as they fled, says mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer

Two thieves have broken into a museum dedicated to the French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France, stealing four artworks and dropping one as they fled, the mayor has said.

“This morning, two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum and stole four works of art,” said Bryan Masson, the far-right mayor of the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer. “Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,” he said, adding that his office estimated the value of the stolen works at €9m (£7.7m).