PARIS — Nearly four months after an Interpol chief was detained in China on corruption charges, his wife has applied for asylum in France, she said on Saturday.

Grace Meng, wife of Meng Hongwei, the former Interpol president, has remained in France, where the organization has its headquarters, since his arrest.

“I have officially claimed asylum in France,” Ms. Meng said in a text message on Saturday.

Ms. Meng, who has refused to specify her Chinese given name or to have her face photographed or filmed by the news media, said in interviews on Friday that she was seeking French protection for her and her twin boys.

“I cannot go back to China; such strange things happen there, and fundamental rights are not respected,” she told the newspaper Libération. “Even here, I am afraid of being kidnapped, and I fear for the safety of my children.”