Giveaway marks Depardieu comeback

Depardieu underwent surgery in the summer

Thousands of condoms are being given away to mark French actor Gerard Depardieu's first film since he underwent major heart surgery.

Depardieu, 52, who underwent a bypass operation in July, plays a homophobic manager in a condom factory in Le Placard (The Closet).

Depardieu plays a homophobic manager

France's leading condom distributor, Prophyltex, is giving away the contraceptives as part of an effort to raise awareness of Aids and HIV among young people in France.

Daniel Auteuil plays a dull and self-effacing accountant who is about to be fired. He spreads the rumour he is gay so that the management will keep him on for fear of being accused of discrimination.

Twenty thousand pharmacies across the country are offering customers scratch cards, with a chance to win either a ticket for the film or a box of 12 condoms.

Contestants will also have the chance of winning a motor scooter in a nationwide draw.

According to a Prophyltex spokeswoman, many young French people are reluctant to buy condoms over the counter - despite Aids awareness campaigns - while pharmacists often fail to put them on display.

Condoms have to come out of the closet if attitudes are to change

Company spokeswoman

"Like the film's hero, condoms will also have come out of the closet, and especially out of the pharmacy drawers, if people's attitudes are to change," she said.

With the success of combination therapies to treat HIV, many people now believe the disease is curable, she added.

One French cinema-goer saw it as a publicity stunt, but said it might appeal to young people.

"I'd go and see the film anyway because I like the actors," he added.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.