NICE (AFP) - The head of a five-star hotel on the French Riviera was kidnapped on Monday (Oct 24), the local prosecutor said.

Ms Jacqueline Veyrac, 76, president of the Grand Hotel in Cannes, was seized from her car in the middle of the day near her home in Nice, said prosecutor Jean-Michel Pretre.

Her attackers forced her from her black 4x4 into another car, while several passers-by looked on, a source close to the case said.

"A woman of that age, kidnapped in those conditions - we are all very concerned," the prosecutor said.

A police investigation has been launched to try to apprehend the "organised gang" members and secure the victim's safe return.

It is not the first time Ms Veyrac has been the target of a kidnapping gang. In 2013 there was an attempt to abduct her outside her garage.