Stolen Degas painting found on a bus near Paris

[PARIS] A Degas painting stolen from a museum in Marseille nine years ago has been found on a bus near Paris, the French Culture Minister said Friday.

Francoise Nyssen said customs officials found the pastel - thought to be worth around 800,000 euros (S$1.3 million) - in the luggage compartment of a bus stopped in a motorway layby.

None of the passengers on the bus admitted to owning the painting, she added.

Experts from the Musee d'Orsay in the French capital later confirmed that the depiction of a group of opera extras was "Les Choristes" - sometimes called "The Extras" - which was stolen in 2009 from the Musee Cantini in the southern port.

AFP