France is tackling a crypto kidnapping wave denting its image and a potential presidential contender

PARIS -- Having chopped a finger from their hostage, the kidnappers were preparing to drill one of his knees, France's interior minister subsequently recounted. Quick work by French police freed the father of a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur from the gruesome ordeal.

Although the kidnapping this month ended with a police raid and seven suspects in custody, it and other for-ransom hostage takings are rattling France's crypto industry.

After another attempted crypto kidnapping in the heart of Paris this week, the wave of violence is also blowing up into a political issue for the government of President Emmanuel Macron — particularly the interior minister who is jockeying to possibly run for France's top job in elections in 2027.

The minister, Bruno Retailleau, met privately Friday with crypto entrepreneurs to discuss their safety and spare further damage to his tough-on-crime image and Macron's efforts to position France as a welcoming place for cutting-edge technologies and businesses. Retailleau's ministry urged journalists not to film the meeting participants “for reasons of security” and described it as “strictly confidential," a measure of how the succession of extortion attempts in recent months has jangled nerves.

Men in masks tried dragging a crypto entrepreneur's daughter into a van in an attempted kidnapping in Paris on Tuesday. Witness-shot video showed the men grappling with the woman and her husband as they clung to each other on the ground, shouting “Help! Help!” A shopkeeper who armed himself with a fire extinguisher helped chase off the attackers, throwing it at their vehicle as they clambered into it and sped away.

The woman's father, Pierre Noizat, is the CEO and a founder of the Bitcoin exchange platform Paymium. Speaking Friday to broadcaster BFMTV, Noizat tore into French judges and politicians for what he alleged is their “lack of action.” He said his son-in-law required stitches for injuries suffered while fighting off the attackers. Noizat expressed concerns that wealthy entrepreneurs from other industries could also be targeted, saying: “I think it's just the start if nothing is done.”

Eric Larchevêque, another crypto entrepreneur whose associate and his wife were taken hostage for ransom in January and who attended the meeting on Friday, said: “All entrepreneurs and the image of France are threatened.”

In a statement, Retailleau expressed “my determination to put a stop to these unbearable attacks.”

The latest kidnap drama came at an inopportune time for the minister who oversees France's security services, because his hardline rhetoric on crime and immigration faces an important test this weekend. Retailleau is hoping that a vote by members of the conservative Republicans party will elect him as its leader. A win could help position Retailleau for an eventual tilt at the French presidency in 2027, when Macron's second and last term ends.

Retailleau's ministry said security will be beefed up for crypto entrepreneurs and their families, with offers of security briefings by elite police units, priority access to emergency services and police checks of their home security.

Larchevêque, a co-founder of French crypto wallet firm Ledger, told broadcaster RTL that he came away from Friday's meeting with the feeling that Retailleau and his police services “have understood what's at stake.”

Larchevêque said the last 12 months saw 50 attacks around the world targeting people involved in cryptocurrency. Of those, 14 were in France, he said.

“There's a real problem,” he said.