Several masked burglars broke into the property of former Adidas owner Bernard Tapie and overpowered and tied his wife and him.
Paris - A nocturnal attack on the former Adidas owner, minister, actor and football manager Bernard Tapie is currently causing indignation in France *.
The burglars used "extreme violence", said the mayor of the small community of Combs-la-Ville, Guy Geoffroy, where Tapie and his wife live.
Ex-Adidas owner: brutally assaulted and tied up
According to reports from the French news agency
afp
, four hooded burglars broke into the villa and beat the couple and tied them up with electric cables.
According to information, Bernard Tapie was able to free himself from investigative circles and flee to a neighbor's house in order to alert the police from there.
Tapie's son Stéphane told the French television broadcaster
BFM TV
"They were lit with lamps and woken up, tied up and beaten up".
The perpetrators managed to escape with their stolen property.
Several valuables were stolen.
The value of the booty is still unclear.
While Dominique Tapie was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, her husband, who was suffering from cancer, refused to be taken to the clinic.
Both were beaten by the burglars.
Tapie's wife is said to have been pulled by the hair.
Ex-Adidas manager: Tapie is a shimmering figure in French society
Tapie is one of the most colorful figures in French society.
Under the socialist President François Mitterrand, Tapie was Minister for Urban Development in the 1990s.
He became known in Germany when he bought Adidas in 1990.
When Tapie tried to sell its Adidas shares, however, a lawsuit that lasted for years ensued.
The former minister and soccer club manager saw himself cheated out of his winnings and then sued.
In an arbitration award in 2008, Tapie was awarded more than 400 million euros in compensation.
However, this award was not without consequences, as the government's decision to settle the dispute between Tapie and the bank with an arbitration award was controversial in France.
The decision of the arbitral tribunal was therefore later overturned by a civil court.
In 2011, the French judiciary began investigations against, among others, the then French economics minister and later IMF head Christin Lagarde.
In 2013 proceedings against Tapie were opened.
The accusation: Tapie let his political connections play in order to achieve the most favorable outcome for him with the referees.
In 2019, Tapie was acquitted of the allegations.
Investigations into Tapie were not only initiated because of this incident.
He was sentenced to eight months in prison at the end of 1995 for a bribe affair involving the Olympique Marseille club, which he bought in 1986.
Tapie had to file for personal bankruptcy before that.
Before his many political scandals, Tapie tried his hand at Formula 3 racing, singer, television presenter and actor.
Most recently he starred in the 1996 film "Men, Women: A Handbook".
(
phf with dpa / afp
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