After seeking thrilsl by skydiving, rock-climbing and other extreme sports, adventure-loving French people are now turning to a controversial new way of testing their limits - designer kidnapping.
Customers of Ultime Realite have to just pay 1,000 pounds, to buy a basic abduction package in which they are seized by strangers, bundled into a car bound and gagged, and kept in a dank cellar for four hours.
And if this was not thrilling enough, boat chases and helicopter escapes can be added to the tailor-made experience, and customers kept for longer periods, depending on the budget.
"You will go through the real sensations of violence, terror and fear of a real kidnapping, a psychological shock that you won't forget in a hurry," the Telegraph quoted the company's website as saying.
The customers explain exactly what they want and once the scenario is established, they sign a contract and liability waiver, but have no idea exactly when or where their abductors will strike.
"We follow you for a few days. At an opportune moment, in the street or elsewhere, we kidnap you," insists the contract.
Georges Cexus, 28, launched Ultime Realite in January and says it is already receiving two orders a day, mainly from top-level executives.
He said the maximum incarceration time was 11 hours, after which the novelty may start to wear off.
Crexus insisted that nobody was ever physically hurt during the kidnappings.
"That's not part of the plan. Together we think about the question of physical and psychological limitations," he told l'Est Republicain, a local daily.
"What I offer is a totally controlled experience that allows you to go further in your personal vision, in your experiences,” he added.
However, if the customer oversteps his tolerance or fear threshold, he can stop the role-play with a previously agreed password.
Some clients have expressed a desire to try and tackle deep-rooted phobias, including in one case being buried alive.
Besides kidnapping, customers can lead a manhunt for a fugitive, be tracked themselves by a bounty hunter or try their hand at drug smuggling by sea in a go-fast speed boat.
Other potential scenarios include spending a night in a morgue, or attending your own funeral.
