Five people have been arrested in connection with the theft of two Renoir paintings from a museum on the French Riviera, according to reports.

The arrests follow the September 8 break-in at the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer, the last home of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Two thieves cut through a garden fence with an electric saw, entered through a window and stole four paintings in under three minutes, the Associated Press reported.

The museum's alarm went off at 5:48 am and police arrived five minutes later, forcing the burglars to flee through the garden. They dropped two works, "Portrait of Madame Pichon" and "Coco Reading", which were recovered. Still missing are "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and "Young Woman at the Well", both on loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Mayor Bryan Masson estimated the four works together at 9 million euros and called it a theft to order, saying the thieves knew exactly which works they wanted. The heist revived calls for better security at France's museums after last year's Louvre crown jewels robbery.