Two Renoir paintings stolen from a museum on the French Riviera last month have sustained damage, prosecutors said on Monday. Spea...

Two Renoir paintings stolen from a museum on the French Riviera last month have sustained damage, prosecutors said on Monday. Speaking to reporters, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the works — Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (c 1913) and Young Woman at the Well (c 1886) — were recovered last Thursday during a search of a home in the southern town of Clermont-l’Hérault. “The paintings were hidden behind a solid cinderblock wall. They were completely undetectable,” Bessone said. “It was through interrogation work that investigators were able to get the receiver of the stolen goods to admit that he had indeed taken possession of the paintings.” Six suspects have been arrested, one of whom has been charged. Those arrested include two alleged burglars and a suspected fence, a person who knowingly buys and sells stolen goods. The alleged roles of the other three have not been disclosed. Sources close to the investigation described the suspects as an “organised, professional team”, some of whose members were already known to police in connection with other crimes. https://lnkd.in/gDhw9Jfd