Stolen Renoir paintings found behind wall in France: prosecutor

Two paintings by impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen from a museum in southern France and later discovered hidden behind a wall, have sustained slight damage, prosecutors said on Monday.

In September, thieves broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer and escaped with two works by Renoir, abandoning two others as they fled. They were a portrait titled "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and a depiction of a woman at a well called "Young Woman at the Well".

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the paintings were recovered last Thursday during a search of a home in the southern town of Clermont-l'Herault. The discovery of the stolen works followed the arrest of six people, including a woman, last Wednesday, said Bessone.