Blanc, who also starred in 1978 comedy Les Bronzés, was the veteran ‘worried clown’ of French cinema

Michel Blanc, beloved by generations for bringing a comic quality to even his saddest characters including losers and hypochondriacs, died on Friday aged 72, his family told AFP.

President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute, saying: “He made us cry with laughter, and moved us to tears”, and calling him “a monument of French cinema”.