Former French Economy Minister Robbed, Beaten at Home

A former French economy minister, Thierry Breton, was robbed and beaten in his Paris home along with his wife and live-in chauffeur, sources close to the police investigation told AFP on Tuesday.

Two men wearing ski-masks and gloves and wielding handguns entered the property late Saturday night through an unlocked window, waking the couple who were threatened and hit, two sources said, confirming a report first given by the newspaper Le Parisien.

The intruders then found the chauffeur, and locked all three victims in a bathroom before making off with what one of the sources said was a diamond bracelet worth 50,000 euros ($56,000) and several hundred euros in cash.

Breton, who was minister 2005-2007 and has been CEO of major French IT company Atos since 2009, suffered a wound to his head while his wife had a wrist hurt. Neither required hospitalization.