PARIS — A broken alarm system made it as easy as 1-2-3: A masked intruder clipped a padlock, smashed a window and stole a Picasso, a Matisse and three other masterpieces from a Paris museum Thursday — a $123 million haul that is one of the world’s biggest art heists.
Unloading the artwork may prove a tougher task, however, with Interpol and collectors worldwide now on high alert.
In what seemed like an art thief’s fantasy, the alarm system had been broken since March in parts of the Paris Museum of Modern Art, according to the city’s mayor, Bertrand Delanoe. Spare parts had been ordered to fix the alarm but had not yet arrived, the mayor said.
Three security guards were on duty overnight, but “they saw nothing,” said Christophe Girard, deputy culture secretary at Paris City Hall. A watchman discovered the theft about 7 a.m.
