(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-10-08 19:41

BEIJING -- Drunken intruders broke into the Orsay Museum in Paris early Sunday and punched a hole in a renowned work by Impressionist painter Claude Monet, media reports said Monday.

"Le Pont d' Argenteuil" by Impressionist painter Claude Monet. Drunken intruders broke into the Orsay Museum in Paris early Sunday and punched a hole in this painting. [File]

The damaged painting was "Le Pont d' Argenteuil," or "The Argenteuil Bridge," which was painted in 1874.

French culture minister Christine Albanel said the intruders, believed to be four men and a woman, appeared drunk and "left various bits of filth" before "one of them stuck a fist into the magnificent masterpiece by Monet."

The alarms sounded and museum personnel arrived quickly, but the intruders were able to flee. No arrests were immediately made.

Albanel said the painting can be restored, but she deplored the damage.

"It's always a heartbreak when an art object that is our memory, our heritage, that we love and that we are proud of is victim of a purely criminal act," she said.

The incident happened during Paris's so-called Nuit Blanche (White Night), when music and cultural events were staged late into the night and thousands thronged the streets of the capital.

Monet led the 19th century Impressionist movement, experimenting notably with light and color in works now deemed priceless.

His "Le Pont d'Argenteuil" shows a view of the Seine at a rural bend, featuring a bridge and boats.