French police detain twenty suspects over cryptocurrency kidnappings

Euronews

27-05-2025

French police have arrested around 20 people alleged to have been involved in a recent spate of kidnappings and kidnapping attempts against cryptocurrency bosses and their families.
The arrests took place on Monday and Tuesday, according to media outlet Franceinfo.
French media reported that half a dozen suspects were taken into custody on Tuesday in connection with the attempted kidnapping of the daughter of cryptocurrency boss Pierre Noizat earlier this month.
The attack, which took place in broad daylight on 13 May, shocked France. Assailants were filmed trying to kidnap Noizat's pregnant daughter, who was out for a walk with her partner and their child.
Tuesday's arrests came after a dozen other people were detained in the commune of Couëron, near the western French city of Nantes, on Monday.
In response to the increasing number of violent attacks against cryptocurrency professionals and their families, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau convened an emergency meeting with industry leaders in mid-May.
During the meeting, Retailleau outlined ways of ensuring their security, including a plan to give them access to special emergency contact numbers.
"These serial kidnappings will be combated with specific tools, both immediate and short-term, to prevent, deter and hinder in order to protect the industry," Retailleau said after the meeting.
"The entire state apparatus is fully mobilised to track down the perpetrators and instigators of this violence and put them out of action", he added.
In 2014, just over a quarter (26%) of EU citizens aged 25–74 had completed higher education. By 2024, that share had risen to 33.5%.
Ireland, Luxembourg and Cyprus lead the pack, with more than 60% of young adults (25–34) holding university degrees. Romania sits at the other end of the spectrum, with fewer than 30% of that age group pursuing higher levels of education, the lowest rate in the EU.
The figures reveal shifting attitudes toward education across generations. Among adults aged 25–54, 82.7% have completed at least upper-secondary education, compared with 70.4% of those aged 55–74.
Young people are nearly twice as likely to have finished higher education (39.8%) as their older counterparts (23.9%).
Differences in vocational qualifications between age groups vary sharply by country. In Luxembourg, in both older and younger generations with medium levels of education, vocational paths dominate (over 96%).
In Portugal, only 13.5% of older adults with medium-level education hold a vocational qualification, versus 37.2% of younger adults.
Similar generational leaps in vocational uptake are observed in Greece, Ireland, Cyprus and Spain, signalling a broader European shift toward skills-focused education.
Across Europe, women are outpacing men in educational attainment.
In 2024, nearly half (49.9%) of women aged 25–34 had completed higher education.
Men also progressed, but more slowly, reaching 38.7% in the same age group. That gap widened by just over 1% in 10 years.
For upper-secondary education, 86.8% of women aged 20–24 had completed at least this level, compared with 81.8% of men.
Only in Romania did men slightly outperform women.