Thieves steal three paintings from Renoir Museum on French Riviera

Thieves have stolen three paintings from the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera.

Two raiders ‌broke into the museum a little before 6am on Tuesday, taking four paintings, Cagnes-sur-Mer ​mayor Bryan Masson said on his Facebook page.

The thieves dropped one of the paintings as they were chased by police, but escaped with the three others.

"Attacking ⁠the Renoir museum is attacking ⁠a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These actions are particularly serious," Mr Masson said ‌in his message.

The museum was created in 1960 in the mansion of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir on a hill ‌in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, where he died in 1919.

The collection on display in the museum includes 13 of Renoir's works and some 40 sculptures, furniture and photographs.

Mr Masson did not identify the ⁠paintings that were stolen.

French newspaper Le Monde, along with other outlets, quoted Mr Masson's office as saying the stolen artworks were worth €9m (£7.7m).

The mayor said the raid began at 5.48am when the museum's alarm went off, and police were on the scene five minutes later, according to Le Monde.

Renoir's most valuable works ​have sold for millions at ​auctions in the past.

Art thieves in Europe are committing ​more violent robberies and specialist gangs have been replaced ⁠by ad hoc opportunists recruited through social media, pan-European police body Europol said last month.

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A prime example of this new trend was last October's break-in at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the agency said.

Thieves threatened guards ​and visitors and stole €88 million (£76m) worth of jewels, such as Empress Eugenie's tiara.

Last month, four Renaissance paintings by 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in Sicily during the country's summer national holiday.

Renoir was one of the leading painters of the Impressionist group. La Loge (1874), La Parisienne (1874) and Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876) are among his best-known pieces, ImpressionistArts website said.

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