Another French heist: Thieves steal 4 paintings worth Rs 98 cr from Renoir museum; drop one while fleeing

File Photo: Visitors look at works by Auguste Renoir (Representative Image)

Two thieves broke into a museum dedicated to French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France on Tuesday and stole four artworks valued at around €9 million (approx Rs 98 crore), according to the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer.The suspects were spotted on the town’s surveillance cameras as they fled the Renoir Museum, with one of the stolen paintings dropped and recovered during their escape, mayor Bryan Masson said.The museum alarm went off at 5.48 am, and municipal police arrived five minutes later, Masson said.The Renoir Museum, opened in 1960 at the artist’s final home before his death in 1919, houses his paintings as well as personal belongings including his easel and wheelchair.The theft comes less than a year after eight items worth around $100 million were stolen from Paris’ Louvre in a daylight robbery.