Jacqueline Veyrac, 76, president of Cannes’s five-star Grand Hotel, was seized from her car on Monday lunchtime, prosecutor Jean-Michel Pretre said.
Her attackers forced her from the black 4x4 into another car in front of several witnesses, a source close to the case said.
“A woman of that age, kidnapped in those conditions – we are all very concerned,” Pretre said.
A police investigation has been launched to try to apprehend the “organised gang” members and secure Veyrac’s safe return.
The businesswoman was the target of an attempted kidnapping in 2013.
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