France claims home victory at Cannes

Critics hailed the first French victory at the Cannes film festival for 21 years, after the acclaimed classroom drama Entre Les Murs (The Class) won the Palme d'Or for best picture late on Sunday.

The triumph marked another high point for French cinema, which has already celebrated a rare best actress Oscar for Marion Cotillard and a home-made box office hit Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis, seen by about 20 million people.