An armed man has stolen jewels worth about 40m euros ($53m) in the French Riviera resort of Cannes, officials say, according to BBC News.

They say the hold-up took place on Sunday, July 28 morning at a jewelry exhibition at the Carlton Hotel.

The hotel is located on the Croisette promenade - one of the most prestigious locations in Cannes.

It is the largest in a series of high-profile thefts in the town, which is famous for its annual film festival. Local media said the robber made off with the jewels in a briefcase. It is not yet known who the owner was.

A Cannes police spokesman said: "A full an urgent operation is under way to catch the culprit and recover these jewels. Thieves see Cannes as rich pickings."

Cannes film festival, which attracts celebrities from around the world, was hit by two jewelry thefts in May this year.

A necklace by Swiss jeweller De Grisogono reportedly worth 1.9m euros ($2.5m, £1.6m) vanished after a celebrity party at a five-star hotel in the resort town of Cap d'Antibes.

A week before, more than 777,000 euros ($1m) worth of jewels were taken from the hotel room of an employee of exclusive Swiss jewellers Chopard.