A police officer stands in front of the entrance of the Musee Renoir after three paintings were stolen from the museum in an early-morning break-in, in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, on Sept. 8, 2026. Valery HACHE / AFP via Getty Images

Authorities in France were seeking two thieves Tuesday who broke into the Renoir Museum in the French Riviera and stole two works by the 19th century Impressionist master, the local mayor said.

Surveillance cameras caught the two perpetrators entering the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer early Tuesday morning and making off with four paintings, the town's mayor, Bryan Masson, said in a statement, adding that the alarm system went off at 5:48 a.m. and police were on the scene just five minutes later.

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

The works initially taken included "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano," "Coco Lisant" and "Young Girl at the Well," with an overall worth of around $10.5 million, Nice-Matin reported. It wasn't immediately clear which two were left missing, or what their estimated value might be.

The museum bearing Renoir's name also has works by other artists.

"Since this morning, both the municipal and national police have been deployed to the site," Masson said in his earlier statement. "The perpetrators are being actively sought, and the investigation is ongoing."

"Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of #CagnesSurMer. These events are particularly serious," the mayor said. "They also confirm the urgent need to implement the comprehensive plan to secure our museums and protect our works of art, a plan to which I have committed. We will dedicate all necessary resources to better protect this heritage, which belongs to all the residents of Cagnes."

Tuesday's theft came almost a year after French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million were stolen from France's Louvre Museum in October 2025.

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