Baron Empain was kidnapped in Paris in 1978, lost part of a finger, was held 63 days, and sold his stake in Empain-Schneider three years later

Édouard-Jean Empain, born in Budapest in 1937, was the grandson of Édouard Empain, founder of the Belgian family's industrial group. In 1957 he made his stepfather sign the Neuilly accords, which gave him the presidency of the family holding company. By 1978 Empain-Schneider had nearly 300 companies, about 150,000 employees and sales of 22 billion francs. On 23 January 1978 kidnappers stopped his Peugeot 604 outside 33 avenue Foch, Paris. They cut off part of his left little finger and left it, with a demand for 80 million francs, in a locker at the Gare de Lyon. He was chained by the neck in a tent in a quarry, then kept in a wooden crate. A handover at Megève on 22 February failed. Police allowed only a fake ransom. On 24 March, during a handover near the A6 motorway, a kidnapper, Daniel Duchâteau, was killed and Alain Caillol was arrested. After questioning, Caillol phoned his accomplices and persuaded them to release the baron in Ivry-sur-Seine. He had been held 63 days. The press then reported his poker losses of 11 million francs and his affairs. Police raised the idea of a staged kidnapping; the investigation ruled it out. In February 1981 he sold his stake to Paribas, and Didier Pineau-Valencienne took the presidency of the group that became Schneider Electric. In December 1982 his kidnappers received 15 to 20 years. Empain died in 2018, aged 80, and is buried at Bouffémont.