On the report of May 13, three masked men suddenly lunged at the daughter of Paymium co-founder and CEO Pierre Noizat as she walked with her young son through Paris’s 11th district, attempting to bundle them into a waiting van in broad daylight. In the struggle, the assailants also assaulted a male companion who tried to intervene, but Noizat’s daughter refused to go quietly, wrestling a handgun free and hurling it aside before bystanders rushed in to help, sending the kidnappers fleeing empty-handed.
Once the attackers bolted, witnesses called the police, and all three victims—Noizat’s daughter, her son, and the companion—were treated at a local hospital for injuries sustained during the scuffle. Investigators from France’s Brigade for the Suppression of Banditry have since launched a daylight kidnapping probe, scouring CCTV footage and tracking the vehicle abandoned nearby in hopes of identifying the culprits.
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
— Le Figaro (@Le_Figaro) May 13, 2025
Industry leaders worry that this traumatic incident highlights a growing trend of “wrench attacks” and kidnappings aimed at cryptocurrency figures and their families. Michael Englander of Poland’s Plasbit cautioned that flaunting wealth online can put loved ones at risk, while data compiled by cypherpunk Jameson Lopp records dozens of similar in-person thefts so far this year. As French authorities pursue leads, the crypto community is left to grapple with how to protect its most vulnerable from ever-bolder criminals.
