French Police Arrest 6 After 30-Hour Kidnapping
French police have detained six people, one of them a minor, in connection with the kidnapping of a 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother. The two women were abducted and held for approximately 30 hours in a garage in the Drôme region. The kidnappers targeted the magistrate's partner, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, sending him a photo of the hostages and threatening mutilation if a crypto ransom was not paid. The plot failed when the two women managed to escape before any payment was made.
France Becomes Hub for 80% of 2026 'Wrench Attacks'
The kidnapping is the latest in a string of violent crimes targeting crypto investors in France. These physical assaults, dubbed “wrench attacks,” have become increasingly common in the country. In 2025, authorities charged 25 suspects over a series of kidnappings targeting crypto executives. The trend has accelerated this year, with Bitcoin security expert Jameson Lopp noting that “8 of the 10 wrench attacks so far this year have been in France.”
The situation has prompted stark warnings from industry participants. French Bitcoin developer Kevin Loaec claimed on social media that “kidnappings [are] happening every 2 days in France now,” adding that weak punishment fails to deter criminals. The sentiment was echoed by influencer Joe Nakamoto, who advised publicly known crypto figures in France to leave the country for their safety.
Incident Exposes Physical Risks of Self-Custody
The attack illustrates a critical evolution in the threat landscape for crypto holders, shifting from digital exploits to direct physical coercion. While France is a current hotspot, with previous attacks including assaults on a Ledger wallet user and the kidnapping of a Ledger co-founder, the problem is global. Security experts advise that technical solutions like time-locked vaults and decoy wallets are insufficient on their own. They emphasize that maintaining a low-profile and adopting robust personal security measures are now critical for anyone holding self-custodied digital assets.
