France has condemned the arrest in Switzerland of film director Roman Polanski, who has French citizenship.
Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said he had been "stunned" to hear about the arrest, and President Nicolas Sarkozy was following the case.
Mr Polanski, 76, faces extradition to the US for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977.
The Paris-born Polish filmaker was detained in Zurich on Saturday as he travelled to a film festival.
He is being held under a 2005 international alert issued by the US. A Swiss spokesman said the US would now have to make a formal extradition request.
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said that because of agreements with the US, "when Mr Polanski arrived we had no choice from a legal point of view but to arrest him".
"He obviously has the right to appeal and I think he will do so," she added. read more
