Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Bon Voyage has emerged as the front-runner for France's Oscar equivalent, the Cesars, with 11 nominations.

The nominees for the awards were announced this morning (Jan 23) by the newly installed president of France's Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema, Alain Terzian.

Bon Voyage, a picaresque tale set against the June 1940 fall of France, stars Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu. It is also France's entry for the foreign language Oscar category.

Alain Resnais' Pas Sur La Bouche is just behind Bon Voyage with nine nominations. Five films tied with four nods each: Noemie Lvovsky's Les Sentiments, Claude Miller's Cannes contender La Petite Lili, Antoine de Caunes' Monsieur N., Andre Techine's Les Egares and Denys Arcand's Les Invasions Barbares.

Despite being the most nominated film, the Bon Voyage nominees should not necessarily be preparing any acceptace speeches just yet.

In recent years the most heavily nominated films have often gone home empty handed - as was the case last year with Francois Ozon's 12-time nominee 8 Women. Others have received far fewer statues than had been expected. In 2002, Amelie garnered 12 nominations but took home only four awards and in 2000 Patrice Leconte's The Girl On The Bridge (La Fille Sur Le Pont) was recognised in eight categories but only won one prize.

Surprises include Gad Elmaleh scoring a nomination for his role in France's most profitable film on 2003, cross-dressing comedy Chouchou - comic performances are rarely recognised by the Academy. Elmaleh will also host the Cesars which air on Canal Plus on February 21.

Best actress contenders include Nathalie Baye and last year's winner Isabelle Carre both for Les Sentiments, Josiane Balasko in Cette Femme La, Sylvie Testud in Stupeur Et Tremblements and Charlotte Rampling for Swimming Pool - one of only two nods for the Ozon film with Ludivine Sagnier nominated in the supporting actress group.

Also in the supporting actress race, Sagnier's La Petite Lili co-star Julie Depardieu scores a rare feat being nominated in that category as well as for best newcomer for the same film.

Directors are all veterans save for Lucas Belvaux whose trilogy of films on love, Un Couple Epatant, Cavale, Après La Vie has peen picking up kudos with French critics. Another critics' favorite, Belleville Rendez-Vous (Les Triplettes De Belleville), already lauded by the Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Boston and San Diego film boards among others, has two Cesar nods, one for best French film and one for best first feature.

The press breakfast at Paris' Fouquet's restaurant was a somewhat subdued affair without the presence of the late Daniel Toscan Du Plantier, the former Acadmy president.

Micheline Presle will be feted during the ceremony with the honorary president of the proceedings and another honoree yet to be announced.

Best French Film
Bon Voyage - Jean-Paul Rappeneau
The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares) - Denys Arcand
Pas Sur La Bouche - Alain Resnais
Les Sentiments - Noemie Lvovsky
Belleville Rendez-Vous (Les Triplettes De Belleville) - Sylvain Chomet

Best Actor
Daniel Auteuil - Après Vous
Jean-Pierre Bacri - Les Sentiments
Gad Elmaleh - Chouchou
Omar Sharif - Monsieur Ibrahim Et Les Fleurs Du Coran
Bruno Todeschini - Son Frere

Best Actress
Josiane Balasko - Cette Femme La
Nathalie Baye - Les Sentiments
Isabelle Carre - Les Sentiments
Charlotte Rampling - Swimming Pool
Sylvie Testud - Stupeur Et Tremblements

Best Supporting Actor
Yvan Attal - Bon Voyage
Clovis Cornillac - A La Petite Semaine
Darry Cowl - Pas Sur La Bouche
Marc Lavoine - Le Coeur Des Hommes
Jean-Pierrre Marielle - La Petite Lili

Best Supporting Actress
Julie Depardieu - La Petite Lili
Judith Godreche - France Boutique
Isabelle Nanty - Pas Sur La Bouche
Geraldine Pailhas - Le Cout de La Vie
Ludivine Sagnier - Swimming Pool

Best Director
Denys Arcand - The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares)
Lucas Belvaux - Un Couple Epatant, Cavale, Après La Vie
Claude Miller - La Petite Lili
Jean-Paul Rappeneau - Bon Voyage
Alain Resnais - Pas Sur La Bouche

Best First Film
Depuis Qu'Otar Est Parti - Julie Bertuccelli
Il Est Plus Facile Pour Un Chameau - Valerie Bruni Tedeschi
Pere Et Fils - Michel Boujenah
Qui A Tue Bambi ' - Gilles Marchand
Belleville Rendez-Vous (Les Triplettes De Belleville) - Sylvain Chomet

Best Newcomer - Male
Gergori Derangere - Bon Voyage
Nicolas Duvauchelle - Les Corps Impatients
Pascal Elbe - Pere Et Fils
Gergoire Leprince-Ringuet - Les Egares
Gaspard Ulliel - Les Egares

Best Newcomer - Female
Marie-Jose Croze - The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares)
Julie Depardieu - La Petite Lili
Dinara Droukarova - Depuis Qu'Otar Est Parti
Sophie Quinton - Qui A Tue Bambi '
Laura Smet - Les Corps Impatients

Best Original or Adapted Screenplay
Denys Arcand - The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares)
Lucas Belvaux - Un Couple Epatant, Cavale, Après La Vie
Julie Bertuccelli, Roger Bohbot, Bernard Renucci - Depuis Qu'Otar Est Parti
Alain Corneau - Stupeur Et Tremblements
Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Patrick Modiano - Bon Voyage

Best Score
Benoit Charest - Belleville Rendez-Vous (Les Triplettes De Belleville)
Stephan Eicher - Monsieur N.
Bruno Fontaine - Pas Sur La Bouche
Gabriel Yared - Bon Voyage

Best Cinematography
Pierre Aim - Monsieur N.
Thierry Arbogast - Bon Voyage
Agnes Godard - Les Egares

Best Set Design
Jacques Rouxel, Catherine Leterrier - Bon Voyage
Jacques Saulnie - Pas Sur La Bouche
Patrick Durand - Monsieur N.

Best Sound
Jean-Marie Blondel, Gerard Hardy, Gerard Lamps - Pas Sur La Bouche
Pierre Gamet, Jean Goudier, Dominique Hennequin - Bon Voyage
Jean-Paul Mugel - Les Egares

Best Costumes
Jackie Burdin - Pas Sur La Bouche
Catherine Leterrier - Bon Voyage
Carine Sarfati - Monsieur N.

Best Editing
Danielle Anezin, Valerie Loiseleux, Ludo Troch - Un Couple Epatant, Cavale, Après La Vie
Herve De Luze - Pas Sur La Bouche
Marilyne Monthieux - Bon Voyage

Best Film from the European Union
Dogville - Lars Von Trier
Goodbye Lenin ! - Wolfgang Becker
The Best Of Youth - Marco Tullio Giordana
Respiro
- Emmanuele Crialese
The Magdalene Sisters - Peter Mullan

Best Foreign Film
Elephant - Gus Van Sant
Gangs Of New York - Martin Scorsese
Mystic River - Clint Eastwood
The Return - Andrei Zviaguintsev
The Hours - Stephen Daldry

Best Short Film
La Chatte Andalouse - Gerald Hustache-Mathieu
L'Homme Sans Tete - Juan Solanas
J'Attendrai Le Suivant - Philippe Orreindy
Pacotille - Eric Jameux