Thieves in France attempted to steal four paintings by the French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir early Tuesday morning, but dropped and abandoned two of them as they fled the scene.

Cagnes-sur-Mer Mayor Bryan Masson's office said the heist only took a total of five minutes, and that four of the Renoir Museum's 12 Renoir paintings were removed from their frames. The museum is located in southern France.

The two missing paintings are “Madame Colonna Romano,” which is worth approximately $2.32 million, and “Jeune femme au puits,” which is valued at $232,000 deputy mayor Caroline d’Amat told CNN. 

The art pieces “Portrait de Madame Stephen Pichon” and “Coco lisant” were recovered.

The city's mayor claimed the thieves were "well-equipped and well-prepared" for the theft and were carrying an electric saw they used to cut through the fixtures securing the frames of the impressionist's works.

Masson's office praised the local police's response to the crime, but the incident has renewed calls for tighter security at museums.

“[The incident] should serve as a warning about the protection of our museums, which now face a new form of organised crime targeting works of art," the mayor’s office said. “Local authorities cannot bear the growing cost of securing their museums alone.

“The French State must play its full part and provide financial support to municipalities and cultural institutions, enabling them to protect their collections effectively against increasingly organised and determined criminals,” it added.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.