The French Constitutional Council decided Friday that some of the laws governing police detention for common-law violations were unconstitutional, DPA reports.
The council, the highest constitutional authority in the land, gave the government until 2011 to change the framework of police detention for people suspected of committing misdemeanors and minor crimes.
The council found that certain aspects of detention, such as the fact that police can interrogate suspects without an attorney being present, were contrary to basic rights.
Not covered by the decision are individuals suspected of committing acts of terrorism, dealing drugs or belonging to organized crime organizations.
Some 800,000 people were detained by French police in 2009.
The European Court of Human Rights has twice condemned France because the attorneys of those detained do not have the right to be present during questioning or to look at the case file