Film director de Broca dies at 71

Viper in the First, starring Jacques Villeret, was de Broca's last film

French film director Philippe de Broca, best known for his eccentric comedies with Jean-Paul Belmondo, has died.

The 71-year-old's most popular films included The Man From Rio, starring Belmondo, and The King of Hearts, with Alan Bates.

He started out as an assistant to Claude Chabrol and Francois Truffaut, before releasing his first film, The Games of Love, in 1959.

President Jacques Chirac led tributes to de Broca, who died of cancer.

Mr Chirac said French cinema had lost "one of its most talented servants" and an "imaginative and demanding" director who gave France "some of its most successful comedies".

French culture minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres announced de Broca's death on Saturday, calling him a "creator of multiple talents".

His last film, Viper in the Fist, has sold more than one million tickets in France since its release in October.