Anti-Polanski protesters clash with police outside movie awards

French Police on Friday pushed back protesters who pulled down a safety barrier outside the Paris theatre hosting the 2020 Cesar Awards, where a movie by director Roman Polanski, who faces rape accusations, is up for a dozen nominations. The protesters did not make it onto the red carpet.

Nearby, other protesters waved placards reading "Shame on an industry that protects rapists." The veteran French-Polish director fled the United States in the late 1970s after admitting raping a 13-year-old girl and faces more recent allegations of sexual assault. He denies the accusations against him.

Polanski's movie An Officer and a Spy, is up for best film and best director, among other categories, at France's equivalent of the Oscars. Polanski will not attend the ceremony, saying he fears a "public lynching".