Mexico City  - French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Monday, to discuss the global financial crisis and several bilateral issues, including a French citizen imprisoned in Mexico for kidnapping.

On Monday, the two leaders discussed the case of Florence Cassez, a French citizen who has been condemned to a 60-year prison term in Mexico for her role in a triple kidnapping.

Sarkozy denied that he sought "impunity" for the woman, and noted that the two countries were to create a commission to evaluate a possible transfer to a French prison that still abided by "the decisions of Mexican justice."

"Nobody in Mexico, independently of their social or economic condition or their nationality, can refrain from respect for the law," Calderon stressed in a joint press conference with Sarkozy at the government palace in Mexico City.

"This is a matter of justice, this is a matter of law, of crime and of punishment," he noted.

Sarkozy, in turn, appeared conciliatory.

"I very well understand the sensitivity of the Mexican people and of the victims of kidnappings," he stressed.

Cassez, 34, who was arrested in 2005, has insisted that she is innocent in the case, although she was the girlfriend of the gang leader, a Mexican. In Mexican media, the victims of the kidnapping have accused Sarkozy of wanting to interfere with the case to boost his popularity back home.

Sarkozy arrived in Mexico City on Sunday, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni. In the evening, he met with Calderon for an informal gathering, in which the Mexican president's office said the global crisis was the main topic of conversation and several financial agreements were signed.

The two leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of environmental protection, education and technology, among others. (dpa)