Sarkozy congratulates The Artist stars

The silent movie landed five prizes at the Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin, who became the first French star to win the coveted prize.

The country’s leader has now reached out to The Artist crew to thank them for bringing French cinema to the forefront in Hollywood.

Sarkozy insists the Oscars triumph is “a tremendous success for French cinema” and singled out Dujardin for praise, calling his performance “dazzling”.

He adds, “(This) demonstrates the exceptional vitality of our cinema and the success of our policy of supporting the excellence of this great French industry.”