French president visits Mexico

The Mexican government acknowledged that officials staged a televised raid of the ranch, allegedly showing police rescuing the hostages and detaining Cassez and a Mexican man. The Attorney General's Office now says that, in fact, Cassez had been arrested the day before.

Calderon may let Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, visit Cassez in prison, Sarkozy's office said, though it was not officially on the agenda.

The Paris daily Liberation referred to the case with a front page headline, "The Florence Cassez Headache," noting that Sarkozy has been under pressure to win Cassez's release, at least to a prison in France.

The issue is sensitive in Mexico, which has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world and where there is increasing public pressure to halt what is seen as widespread impunity for crimes.

Under an international extradition agreement, Cassez could ask to carry out her sentence in France. But if that would force her to accept her sentence and forgo any appeals, according to her attorney, Agustin Acosta.

Acosta said Cassez also could appeal for a retrial, a process he said would be lengthy and risky because the outcome would be uncertain.