Warner Bros France has picked up French-speaking rights to highly-anticipated local comedy La Verite Si Je Mens 2 - La Grande Distribution, the sequel to the 1997 hit title, through its French offshoot PECF (Production et Edition Cinematographique Francaise).

La Verite Si Je Mens - directed by Thomas Gilou and produced by Vertigo Films for a mere $3.7m (FFr27m) - racked up $23.3m (FFr170m) at the French box office. The sequel, also directed by Gilou, is currently shooting.

Warner's Francis Boespflug previously bailed out Vertigo by boarding futuristic tale Peut-Etre, directed by Cedric Klapisch, for which the production company had trouble wrapping up financing.

PECF - headed by Boespflug, a former Gaumont executive who took over Warner France from Steve Rubin in March 1997 and revived the US major's local production activities - is expected to back Klapisch's next title, also produced by Vertigo.

Along with Peut-Etre, PECF's European co-productions and pick-ups have included Claude Miller's La Classe De Neige, Graham Guit's Les Kidnappeurs, Patrick Schulman's Comme Une Bete, Marcel Bluwal's Le Plus Beau Pays Du Monde and German title Tarzan And The Lost City, a Cinevox/Village Roadshaw production starring Casper Van Diem.