Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has criticized moves by US prosecutors to have film director Roman Polanski arrested on a 31-year-old conviction for sexually abusing a minor. In an interview that is to appear Friday in the daily Le Figaro, Sarkozy said, "I understand the gravity of the charges against Roman Polanski. But I will add that it is not good administration of justice to reach a verdict 32 years after the facts and when the accused is 76 years old."
Polanski was arrested on September 27 by Swiss police in Zurich on an American arrest warrant based on his 1978 conviction for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
It was the first time Sarkozy has spoken out publicly on the affair. He was responding to a question about Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, who was roundly criticized for coming to Polanski's defense immediately after the arrest.
