French Police Recover $4.6 Million Renoirs and Foil Suspected Fondation Maeght Plot

By Elena Vasquez

French police have recovered two Renoir paintings valued together at around $4.6 million and charged four men in connection with their theft from the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer — a burglary prosecutors now believe was meant to be followed by a second, targeting the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Prosecutors said Monday that the suspects were preparing to rob the Fondation Maeght, one of France's major modern art institutions, whose collection includes works by Joan Miró, Alberto Giacometti, and Marc Chagall, according to Le Figaro, citing Agence France-Presse.

What happened at the Musée Renoir?

The two paintings — Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano and Femme au puits (Woman at the Well) — were stolen on September 8. At around 5:50 a.m., two men cut through a fence and broke a window to enter the museum, which is housed in the artist's former home on the French Riviera.

Using a saber saw, they removed four paintings from the walls in approximately two minutes before an alarm sounded. They abandoned two of the works and fled with the other two.

A cover left behind at the scene gave investigators DNA evidence. It led them to a 29-year-old man from the Var department already known to police, and then to a second suspect, a 41-year-old man living in Corsica.

The takeaway: a two-minute break-in and a single piece of abandoned material unraveled the entire operation.

How did police stop a suspected second robbery?

The investigation changed course on October 3, when officers observed the younger suspect visiting the Fondation Maeght. Police also observed a meeting between the principal suspect and an art dealer whom investigators described as having a history of working with known forgers.

"We were very clearly dealing with the repetition of a criminal project," Eric Antonetti, director of the Alpes-Maritimes judicial police, said at a press conference, according to Le Figaro.

Police had originally planned to wait until they could recover the paintings before making arrests. Fearing another burglary was imminent, they moved on October 7 instead. Six people were arrested last week; four men have since been charged, two of whom remain in pretrial detention, Le Figaro reported, citing Agence France-Presse.

Authorities believe the original theft was opportunistic rather than commissioned. "The preferred hypothesis is that there was no sponsor, a priori, of the theft," Antonetti said.

Where were the paintings found?

The day after the arrests began, investigators recovered the two Renoirs from a house in Clermont-l'Hérault. The works had been concealed behind a false wall built from bricks and plasterboard — a hiding place disclosed by a third suspect during questioning.

Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the paintings were in relatively good condition, though both sustained damage during the burglary. They have been transferred to the Interdisciplinary Center for Heritage Conservation and Restoration in Marseille for examination under the supervision of the Musée d'Orsay.

France's Culture Ministry said the works would eventually return to the Musée Renoir.

Why does this case matter now?

The case lands amid renewed scrutiny of French museum security after a series of high-profile thefts. The most notable was the October 2025 robbery of the Louvre, in which thieves escaped with crown jewels valued at more than $100 million. Those jewels have yet to be recovered.

With four suspects charged, one suspected second heist interrupted, and two damaged Renoirs now in conservation, the case will test how quickly — and how visibly — France can return stolen heritage to public display.