France keeps losing its treasures because it refuses to guard them. Thieves cut a fence, smashed a window and walked off with Renoirs worth about 9 million euros, less than a year after the Louvre raid. Museums across Europe have become escape rooms for criminals, and the heritage of a nation is the prize.
The alarm sounded and police were on site within five minutes, which is exactly how a working system behaves. Two paintings were dropped or recovered in the escape, and Italian investigators proved this year that stolen Renoirs can come home. The real fix is smarter funding for small museums, not pretending every historic villa can be a fortress.
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