[ebalit]

I'm not a lawyer but from what I understand the process is closer to what you mention for the US.

We have "garde à vue" and "détention provisoire":

- "Garde a vue" is similar to being in police custody and it's limited to 24-48 hours normally, but there is longer duration for specific crime, the maximum being 6 days for terrorism investigations [0].

- Then, a judge can decide that the defendant should stay in "détention provisoire" before a trial. It doesn't have a duration limit but should be motivated and can be re-examined multiple time [1].

0: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garde_%C3%A0_vue_en_droit_fran... 1: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9tention_provisoire_en_F...