Renoir paintings worth millions stolen in French museum heist
It is the latest in a string of high-profile art thefts in Europe that has again put the security of museums and galleries in the spotlight.
Two paintings by the impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir have been stolen from a museum in the south of France.
Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer early on Tuesday, seizing four paintings but dropping two of the works in the museum gardens as they escaped, local Mayor Bryan Masson said.
The paintings, each worth €9m (£7.7m; $10.4m), are the latest high-profile pieces to have been stolen in a string of recent heists in Europe which have thrust the security of art in galleries and museums into the spotlight.
They were "wearing helmets, gloves, and combat gear" and carrying "an electric knife and hacksaw," he added.