French police have detained a 25-year-old Frenchman who allegedly hacked into the Twitter accounts of many well-known figures, including US President Barack Obama and pop singer Britney Spears.

The police managed to arrest the man after a long-running investigation by the French law enforcement authorities and the FBI.

The chief of the French central office against online fraud, Adeline Champagnat, said the man used the pseudonym "Hacker Croll" to make the attacks, which were reportedly not financially motivated. The authorities did not disclose his real name.

He was scheduled to appear at court in the central French city of Clermont-Ferrand on 24 June.

Hacking into someone’s account is a crime and carries a prison term of up to two years.