Mrs French added that it was "probably still the assumption" that women would deal with childcare.

BBC: Education & Family

Among other benchmarks, the French CAC 40 index added 0.6% to 3237.69, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index firmed 0.7% to 5634.74.

WSJ: European Stocks Catch a Bounce

He added that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was "following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved".

BBC: Roman Polanski in Swiss detention