Nominations for France's equivalent to the Oscars were announced Friday morning in Paris with Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)at the top of the heap, and Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)and Remi Bezancon's Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie tying with nine nods each.

Cannes Palme d'Or winner The Class (Entre Les Mur)also scored five Cesar nominations while Philippe Claudel's I've Loved You So Long took six.

Those five films were also all nominated for best picture along with Cedric Klapisch's Paris and Martin Provost's Seraphine.

In the acting categories, Vincent Cassel is nominated for best actor for Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine) alongside Premier Jour's Jacques Gamblin, Francois-Xavier Demaison for Coluche, L'Histoire D'Un Mec, while Albert Dupontel is recognised for Deux Jours A Tuer and, in a posthumous nod, Guillaume Depardieu for Versailles.

Kristin Scott Thomas picked up a nomination for her lauded, yet Oscar-omitted, role in Claudel's I've Loved You So Long. Joining her in the race are Catherine Frot for Le Crime Est Notre Affaire, Yolande Moreau in Seraphine, Tilda Swinton in Julia and Sylvie Testud in Sagan.

Bezancon, Cantet, Desplechin, Provost and Richet all made the cut in the directing category.

Best foreign film mentions went to Bouli Lanners' Eldorado, Matteo Garrone's Gomorra, Sean Penn's Into The Wild, the Dardenne brothers' Lorna's Silence, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, James Gay's Two Lovers and Ari Folman's Oscar nominated Waltz With Bashir.

Local box office smashWelcome To The Sticks (Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis)picked up just one nod for original screenplay.

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Full list of nominees:

Best Actor

Vincent Cassel -Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

François-Xavier Demaison -Coluche, L'histoire D'un Mec

Guillaume Depardieu -Versailles

Albert Dupontel -Deux JoursA Tuer

Jacques Gamblin -Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Best Actress

Catherine Frot - Le Crime Est Notre Affaire

Yolande Moreau -Seraphine

Kristin Scott Thomas -I've Loved You So Long

Tilda Swinton -Julia

Sylvie Testud -Sagan

Best Director

Remi Bezançon -Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Laurent Cantet -The Class (Entre Les Mur)

Arnaud Desplechin -A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Martin Provost -Seraphine

Jean-François Richet -Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Best Supporting Actor

Benjamin Biolay -Stella

Claude Rich -Aide-Toi, Le Ciel T'aidera

Jean-Paul Roussillon -A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Pierre Vaneck -Deux JoursA Tuer

Roschdy Zem -The Girl From Monaco (Le Fille De Monaco)

Best Supporting Actress

Jeanne Balibar -Sagan

Anne Consigny -A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Edith Scob -L'Heure D'Ete

Karin Viard -Paris

Elsa Zylberstein -I've Loved You So Long

Best Picture

The Class (Entre Les Mur)

I've Loved You So Long

Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Paris

Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Seraphine

A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Best Newcomer, Male

Ralph Amoussou -Aide-Toi, Le Ciel T'aidera

Laurent Capelluto -A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Marc-Andre Grondin -Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet - La Belle Personne

Pio Marmai -Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Best Newcomer, Female

Marilou Berry -Vilaine

Louise Bourgoin -The Girl From Monaco (Le Fille De Monaco)

Anaïs Demoustier -Les Grandes Personnes

Deborah François -Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Lea Seydoux -La Belle Personne

Best First Film

Home, dir: Ursula Meier

I've Loved You So Long, dir: Philippe Claudel

Mascarades, dir: Lyes Salem

Pour Elle, dir: Fred Cavaye

Versailles, dir: Pierre Schoeller

Best Original Screenplay

Marc Abdelnour, Martin Provost - Seraphine

Remi Bezançon - Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Dany Boon, Franck Magnier, Alexandre Charlot - Welcome To The Sticks (Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis)

Philippe Claudel - I've Loved You So Long

Arnaud Desplechin, Emmanuel Bourdieu - A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Eric Assous, François d'Epenoux, Jean Becker - Deux JoursA Tuer

Clemence de Bieville, François Caviglioli, Nathalie Lafaurie - Le Crime Est Notre Affaire

Laurent Cantet, François Begaudeau, Robin Campillo - The Class (Entre Les Mur)

Abdel Raouf Dafri, Jean-François Richet - Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Christophe Honore, Gilles Taurand - La Belle Personne

Best Sound

Jean-Pierre Laforce, Nicolas Cantin, Sylvain Malbrant - A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Olivier Mauvezin, Agnès Ravez, Jean-Pierre Laforce - The Class (Entre Les Mur)

Jean Minondo, Gerard Hardy, Alexandre Widmer, Loïc Prian, François Groult, Herve Buirette - Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Daniel Sobrino, Roman Dymny, Vincent Goujon- Paris 36 (Faubourg 36)

Philippe Vandendriessche, Emmanuel Croset, Ingrid Ralet - Seraphine

Bet Original Score

Jean-Louis Aubert - I've Loved You So Long

Marco Beltrami, Marcus Trumpp - Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Michael Galasso - Seraphine

Sinclair - Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Reinhardt Wagner - Paris 36 (Faubourg 36)

Best Cinematography

Laurent Brunet - Seraphine

Robert Gantz - Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Eric Gautier - A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Agnès Godard - Home

Tom Stern - Paris 36 (Faubourg 36)

Best Art Decoration

Thierry François - Seraphine

Emile Ghigo - Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Yvan Niclass - Home

Jean Rabasse - Paris 36 (Faubourg 36)

Olivier Raoux - Les Enfants De Timpelbach

Best Costumes

Madeline Fontaine - Seraphine

Pierre-Jean Larroque - Les Femmes De L'ombre

Virgine Montel - Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Nathalie du Roscoät - Sagan

Carine Sarfati - Paris 36 (Faubourg 36)

Best Editing

Laurence Briaud - A Christmas Tale (Un Conte De Noel)

Robin Campillo, Stephanie Leger - The Class (Entre Les Mur)

Sophie Reine - Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie

Francine Sandberg - Paris

Herve Schneid, Bill Pankow -Public Enemy Number One(Mesrine)

Best Short Film

Les Miettes, dir: Pierre Pinaud

Les Paradis Perdus, dir: Helier Cisterne

Skhizein, dir: Jeremy Clapin

Taxi Wala, dir: Lola Frederich

Une Leçon Particulière, dir: Raphaël Chevènement

Best Foreign Film

Eldorado, dir: Bouli Lanners

Gomorrah, dir: Matteo Garrone

Into The Wild, dir: Sean Penn

Lorna's Silence(Le Silence De Lorna), dir: Jean-Pierre, Luc Dardenne

There Will Be Blood, dir: Paul Thomas Anderson

Two Lovers, dir: James Gray

Waltz With Bashir, dir: Ari Folman

Best Documentary Feature

Elle S'Appelle Sabine, dir: Sandrine Bonnaire

J'Irai Dormir A Hollywood, dir: Antoine de Maximy

Les Plages D'Agnes, dir: Agnès Varda

Tabarly, dir: Pierre Marcel

La Vie Moderne, dir: Raymond Depardon

The Cesar ceremony will be held in Paris on February 27.

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