Paris prosecutors probe ‘gang robbery’ of France’s Tapie

PARIS: Paris prosecutors said on Monday they have opened an investigation into gang robbery after former French minister and scandal-ridden tycoon Bernard Tapie, once the owner of Adidas, was attacked along with his wife during a midnight burglary of their home.

The couple were asleep when four men broke into the house in Combs-la-Ville near Paris overnight on Saturday to Sunday, beat them and tied them up with electrical cords. In a sign of the seriousness of the case, the probe has been taken over by prosecutors in Paris from the local prosecutors in the town of Melun outside the capital.

Paris prosecutors said they have opened an investigation into "organised gang robbery, holding someone against their will to commit a crime and belonging to a criminal group."