French minister to meet crypto firms after kidnapping attempt

The French interior minister reportedly plans to meet cryptocurrency professionals in the aftermath of a violent kidnapping attempt on the family of a crypto exchange executive in Paris.

According to a May 14 France24 report, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has invited crypto professionals to meet him after a brazen attempt to kidnap the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the co-founder and CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium.

”I will assemble businesspeople working in cryptocurrencies, and we have a few of those in France, at the interior ministry to work with them on their security,” Retailleau reportedly told the Europe 1/CNews broadcaster.

On May 13, three masked men attacked Noizat’s daughter while she was walking in Paris’ 11th district with a man and her son. The attackers tried to force Noizat’s daughter and her son into a white van.

Related: Teens kidnap Las Vegas man at gunpoint, stealing $4M in crypto

Passersby intervened, with one scaring the assailants while brandishing a fire extinguisher before throwing it at them as they fled. The event is now being investigated by local authorities, with the vehicle used being found abandoned nearby on the same day.

En plein Paris, un homme a été violenté par des individus cagoulés, habillés tout en noir. Ils tentaient de l'enlever. Un homme a surgi, extincteur à la main, pour les faire fuir. →https://t.co/P0qV6PR40v pic.twitter.com/9f4r2Gi7ho

Jameson Lopp, a cypherpunk and co-founder of self-custodial firm Casa, has created a list on GitHub recording dozens of offline crypto robberies, with 22 incidents of in-person crypto-related theft so far this year. Many in the crypto industry highlight that anonymity is the only way to effectively protect holders and their close circle against so-called “$5 wrench attacks.”

Lopp’s list is likely undercounting the total number of attacks targeting people over their involvement in the crypto industry. A University of Cambridge study in September 2024 found that these so-called “wrench attacks” are often underreported due to revictimization fears.

Related: How a $243 million crypto heist led to a real-world kidnapping

Paris is also no stranger to these attacks. Earlier this month, Paris police freed the father of a crypto entrepreneur who was held for several days in connection with a 7 million euro ($7.8 million) kidnapping plot.

At the start of this year, David Balland, co-founder of leading crypto hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger, was abducted from his home in central France. He was held captive until a police operation on the night of Jan. 22 secured his release.

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