French actor Belmondo suffers stroke

Belmondo suffered a health scare in 1999

Veteran French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo is in hospital after suffering a suspected stroke while on holiday.

The 63-year-old star was flown to a Paris hospital after being taken ill on the island of Corsica.

Although his condition was being treated as serious he is now said to be in a stable condition at Saint-Joseph hospital.

The actor has starred in many of France's best movies, working with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Sautet and Alain Resnais.

Belmondo starred in Breathless opposite Jean Seberg

Belmondo starred in Godard's new wave classic Breathless in 1960, in which he played a young thug who romantically models himself on Humphrey Bogart.

He won a César best actor award for Itinéraire d'un Enfant Gâté in 1989.

Doctors have issued a statement saying the actor is undergoing tests to establish the seriousness of the stroke.

No other details about his condition have been released on the request of the family.

But LCI television reports Belmondo has suffered paralysis in his face and loss of speech.

In 1999 he was rushed to hospital after falling ill while performing in a play in western France.

His illness was blamed on heart problems.