France has requested the help of Interpol after five paintings worth an estimated EUR 100 million were stolen from the Modern Art Museum in Paris last Thursday (May 20th).

Interpol has issued a global alert that features photos of the works and added them to its Stolen Works of Art database, which can be accessed online by cultural and professional bodies.

The oil paintings were stolen in the early hours of Thursday morning in one of the biggest art heists in history.

The five stolen paintings are: Pablo Picasso’s Pigeon with Green Peas (1911); Pastoral by Henri Matisse (1906); Olive Tree near l'Estaque by Georges Braque (1906); Woman with Fan by Amedeo Modigliani (1919); and Still Life with Candlestick by Fernand Leger (1922).

Jean-Michel Louboutin, Interpol’s Executive Director of Police Services, said: “These extraordinary paintings by these great masters are so recognizable that they will be difficult to sell in any market.”

“Their inclusion in Interpol’s publicly accessible works of art database will allow any legitimate buyer of paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Leger and Modigliani to determine whether their purchase would be legal and for the public to remain alert as to what has been reported stolen,” he added.

The museum previously reopened in 2006 after a EUR 15 million upgrade, while two years ago it upgraded its security system.

However, a broken alarm system is believed to have made life easier for the perpetrators. According to the city's mayor Bertrand Delanoe spare parts had been ordered to fix the alarm, but they had not arrived yet.