A bomb scare at the Cannes Film Festival forced a brief evacuation from the Debussy theatre on Friday (May 20).

The audience was waiting in the theatre for the start of director Michel Hazanavicius' Redoubtable, which is in competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize, before being evacuated.

State news agency Xinhua reported that squads of police were seen going inside the building with dogs. The alert was lifted about 20 minutes later.

A security guard told The Hollywood Reporter that the suspicious item had been a bag left at the entrance to the Palais Des Festivals, the convention centre where the festival takes place.

The 70th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 17 to 28.

France has been under a state of emergency since 2015, when extremist attacks in Paris left 130 people dead in one night in November.