French billionaire tycoon and former owner of Adidas, Bernard Tapie was attacked along with his wife during an ‘extremely violent’ burglary at his luxury estate near Paris.

The former French government minister, 78, was repeatedly hit over the head when a group of men broke into his manor house in Combs-La-Ville overnight on Saturday, April 3. They also beat up Tapie’s wife, 70-year-old Dominique Tapie, before tying them up with electrical cords.

After the burglary attack, Mrs Tapie was taken to the hospital for treatment but her husband chose not to.

Their grandson Rodolphe Tapie said of the attack: ‘My grandfather refused to be taken away.

‘He is shattered, very tired. He was sitting on a chair when he was hit with a club.

‘My grandmother was taken to hospital for a check-up. She’s doing well.’

Local prosecutors indicated that the burglars got away with two watches, including a Rolex, and jewellery.

Guy Geoffroy, the Mayor of Combs-La-Ville said Mrs. Tapie had raised the alarm after untying herself and escaping to a neighbour’s home.

He added: ‘[The raiders] pulled her by the hair because they wanted to know where the treasure was.

‘But of course there was no treasure, and the fact that they didn’t find one made the violence even worse.’

Tapie, who is currently suffering from cancer, served as a Socialist minister in France while also building up a sports and media empire. He was once the owner of Ligue 1 club Marseille which won five French titles and the Champions League under him, though he was also found guilty of match-fixing and the side was relegated as punishment.

In the past, he received criminal convictions for tax fraud and misuse of corporate assets, and at one stage went to prison for five months.