Drunken intruders broke into the Orsay Museum in Paris early Sunday and punched a hole in an invaluable work by Impressionist master Claude Monet.

French Culture Minister Christine Albanel called the attack on Monet's Le Pont d'Argenteuil an assault on the French people.

Le Pont d'Argenteuil by Claude Monet is exhibited at the Orsay Museum in Paris. Intruders punched a 10-centimetre tear in the canvas.
(Thibault Camus/Associated Press)

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

"This splendid Monet painting punched right in the middle," said an emotional Albanel on French radio.

An official described the damage as a 10-centimetre tear. But the painting can be restored, Albanel said.  

The break-in occurred during Paris's annual all-night festival — Nuit Blanche (Sleepless Night) — which brought 1.5 million people into the streets for concerts and exhibits. Toronto recently held its second Nuit Blanche.

A surveillance camera caught a group of four boys and one girl entering through a broken door at the museum, which houses a major collection of impressionist art, on the banks of the Seine River.

An alarm sounded and the group left. No arrests have been made yet.

Albanel also said that she would seek improved security in museums and stronger sanctions against those who desecrate art.

Monet led the 19th-century Impressionist movement, and is noted for his experimentation with light, colour and perception. Some of his best-known works include Nympheas, Water Lilies and Impression, Sunrise.

With files from the Associated Press