PARIS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- President Nicolas Sarkozy is seeking the release of a French teacher on trial in Iran in connection with election protests, the presidential office said Monday.

    "He (Sarkozy) has increased his efforts with all those who can exert influence with the view to a rapid resolution and her liberation. It is his top priority in this affair," said an advisor not allowed to be named because of presidential palace policy.

    Clothilde Reiss, 24, and a French embassy staffer were among more than 100 people charged with spying and helping a Western plot to overthrow the Iranian government after protests following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election victory in June.

    Reiss, who had been teaching in Iran for five months, was arrested July 1 after attending an Iranian opposition demostration. France has denied that Reiss was a spy.

    According to Iranian media reports, Reiss appeared in court Saturday in Tehran, saying she had handed photos of demonstrations to the French embassy.

    On Monday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner described the trial as a "show."