France | Crypto

French elite GIGN forces freed a Swiss hostage and arrested seven suspects in a cryptocurrency ransom plot near Valence-TGV station using nearly 150 officers, marking the latest incident in France's emergence as a global hotspot for crypto-linked violent crime with at least ten cases since January. The post France’s Crypto Kidnapping Crisis Continues as Police Free Swiss Hostage, Arrest Seven appeared first on Cryptonews.

French political party Rassemblement National is reportedly preparing a draft law to mine Bitcoin with surplus nuclear energy. Rassemblement National (RN), a French political party, is reportedly pushing to mine Bitcoin using surplus energy from nuclear power plants, signaling a shift from its leader’s previous anti-crypto stance.  French newspaper outlet Le Monde reported last week that RN leader and three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen now backs using idle nuclear energy for Bitcoin (BTC) mining. She reportedly promoted the plan during a visit to the Flamanville nuclear plant on March 11. The party said the initiative will turn wasted electricity into “secure and extremely profitable” digital assets.  According to Le Monde, RN lawmaker Aurélien Lopez-Liguori has spearheaded the proposal in the French Parliament, drafting a bill to install mining infrastructure at sites operated by the energy giant Électricité de France (EDF).  Read more

French lawmaker Sarah Knafo has invited Samson Mow to visit France, and Mow says he is keen to kick off a wave of nation-state Bitcoin adoption across Europe. Jan3 founder Samson Mow is setting his sights on ramping up Bitcoin nation-state adoption in Europe following a positive meeting with pro-Bitcoin French lawmaker Sarah Knafo. “Looking forward to starting a nation-state Bitcoin adoption wave in France and perhaps all of Europe,” Mow said in an X post on Saturday, following his meeting with Sarah Knafo, a French member of the European Parliament, at BTC Prague this week. They discussed plans to develop a Strategic Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve for France and promote “friendly regulations” for the asset. Mow said Knafo has invited his team to France. On the same day, Knafo addressed the meeting with Mow on her X account, stating, “France must take hold of these issues.” Read more

The latest reported “wrench attack,” in which criminals targeted individuals for their crypto holdings, occurred in the suburbs of Paris this week. France has reportedly seen another incident targeting cryptocurrency users, this time involving the kidnapping of a 23-year-old man in a Paris suburb. According to a Thursday report from French news outlet Le Parisien, the victim was abducted in Maisons-Alfort and held captive for several hours while the perpetrators demanded his partner to turn over 5,000 euros ($5,764) in cash, along with the key to a Ledger hardware wallet containing an unreported amount of crypto. The report suggested that the criminals used violence to extract information regarding his digital assets. Read more

The Telegram founder will once again be allowed to travel to Dubai for a short period before returning to France, where his case is ongoing. Telegram founder Pavel Durov gained court approval to leave France for up to 14 days to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the company is headquartered. Durov will be allowed to leave France on July 10 after having a travel request denied by French officials in May, according to French news outlet Le Monde. The executive had requested permission to travel to Oslo, Norway, to deliver a keynote address at the Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Freedom Forum, which was presented remotely after French officials rejected his travel application. Read more

According to the Telegram founder, France’s political leaders continue to make poor choices regarding censorship. Telegram founder Pavel Durov warned that France may experience a societal collapse if it continues down its current political trajectory of censorship and regulatory policies during an interview on Wednesday. “Emmanuel Macron isn’t making the right choices. I’m very disappointed. France is getting weaker and weaker,” Durov said in a translated excerpt from an interview with French outlet Le Point. Durov added: When we delay necessary reforms too long, we end up experiencing a collapse,” the Telegram founder continued, warning that France was losing talent to other jurisdictions like Dubai. Read more

In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Pavel Durov’s first since being indicted on six charges in 2024, said his company did nothing wrong. Telegram founder Pavel Durov is still trying to figure out why he was detained in France last August, though the motives may have been political and tied to authorities’ efforts to crack down on alleged illicit activity on the messaging platform. That was one of the key takeaways from Durov’s interview with Tucker Carlson, which premiered Tuesday on YouTube.  In his first interview since his Aug. 24, 2024, arrest at Bourget Airport outside Paris, Durov said French authorities appeared primarily interested in how Telegram works — “as if it’s some kind of mystery,” he quipped. Read more

Pornhub’s France block over age checks sparked a 1,000% ProtonVPN signup surge, highlighting pushback against ID laws.

Moroccan police have arrested a dual-national French-Moroccan man wanted for an alleged connection with a series of kidnappings in France that targetted individuals with crypto holdings, Reuters reported on June 4, citing a source familiar with the case. According to the source, Moroccan police identified the man as Bajjou Badiss Mohamed AmiDe, who is 24 […] The post Moroccan police arrests suspect behind recent crypto-related kidnappings in France appeared first on CryptoSlate.

French investigators have charged 25 suspects after a string of crypto kidnapping plots targeting Paymium’s CEO, a poker player’s family, and other high-value holders. Delivery-van disguises, €7 m ransoms and finger mutilation show rising physical danger for crypto wealth worldwide. The post France’s Crypto Kidnap Crisis: 25 Indicted Over Mutilation and Million-Euro Ransom Horror appeared first on Cryptonews.

France is deploying new security measures to protect crypto entrepreneurs after a rash of violent kidnapping attempts raised alarm across the country’s tech sector and ignited political pressure on Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, AP News reported on May 16. The ministry confirmed that Retailleau met privately with crypto founders to discuss personal safety. According to […] The post France ramps up efforts to tackle rising crypto kidnappings after failed attempt goes viral appeared first on CryptoSlate.