Two stolen Renoir paintings recovered and six arrested after French Riviera museum heist last month

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026.

French authorities have recovered two Renoir paintings stolen from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer and arrested six people in connection with the theft. The missing works, 'Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano' and 'Young Woman at the Well', were tracked down by investigators following a national search launched after the audacious raid last month.

Thieves sliced through a fence, climbed through a window and seized four Renoir paintings in under three minutes, abandoning two as they fled.

Cagnes-sur-Mer mayor Bryan Masson praised investigators in a statement and announced a news conference for later Friday, though details of how the paintings were found were not disclosed.

The heist revived painful memories of last year's crown jewels theft at the Louvre and renewed calls for better security funding at France's cultural sites.