PARIS (AP) \u2014 Two thieves stole four valuable Renoir paintings Tuesday from a small museum on the French Riviera, but abandoned two of them as they fled, the local mayor said. Police are searching for the perpetrators.<\/p>\n
Surveillance camera footage identified two people entering the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer and stealing four paintings, the town\u2019s mayor, Bryan Masson, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The museum\u2019s alarm system went off at 5:48 a.m. and police arrived five minutes later, the mayor\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The stolen works included \u201cPortrait of Madame Colonna Romano,\u201d \u201cCoco Lisant\u201d and \u201cYoung Girl at the Well,\u201d and the overall worth of the stolen paintings is $10.5 million, Nice-Matin reported.<\/p>\n
An official with the regional police administration confirmed the theft to The Associated Press and the hunt for suspects, and said an investigation is underway. The official, who wasn’t authorized to be publicly named according to police policy, couldn’t confirm the value of the paintings.<\/p>\n
The museum was closed Tuesday while the investigation unfolded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAttacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-mer,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n
He called for greater security measures for museums around France.<\/p>\n