COLLONGES-AU-MONT-D'OR • Two years after the death of renowned French chef Paul Bocuse, the Michelin Guide has stripped his flagship restaurant of the coveted three-star ranking it held for half a century, prompting anger and dismay from his culinary peers.

The Auberge du Pont de Collonges, near food-obsessed Lyon in south-east France, was the oldest three-starred restaurant in the world, having held the accolade since 1965.

The Michelin Guide on Friday told Agence France-Presse that the establishment "remained excellent but no longer at the level of three stars" and will have only two in the 2020 edition of the famous red book dubbed the "bible" of French cuisine.

"Michelin stars have to be earned, not inherited," Michelin Guide boss Gwendal Poullennec told RTL broadcaster.

Mr Bocuse's family and restaurant team said they were "upset" by the decision, and celebrity chef Marc Veyrat, who recently sued the Michelin Guide over a lost third star, called the move "pathetic".

The Bocuse d'Or organisation, which manages the annual cooking competition the late chef created, also greeted the announcement with "sadness" and expressed its "unwavering support" for the restaurant.

"Monsieur Paul", as Mr Bocuse was known, died aged 91 on Jan 20, 2018, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Nicknamed the "pope" of French cuisine, he was one of the country's most celebrated chefs, helping shake up the food world in the 1970s with the lighter fare of the Nouvelle Cuisine revolution. He also introduced the notion of culinary celebrity.

Even before Mr Bocuse's death, some critics had commented that the restaurant was no longer quite up to scratch.

But Michelin's decision, a year after controversially stripping Mr Veyrat of his third star, immediately stirred discontent. Food critic Perico Legasse told BFM news channel the guide had committed an "irreparable" error in what he called its quest to create media hype.

Mr Veyrat said he had "lost faith" in a new generation of Michelin editors he accuses of trying to make a name for themselves by taking down the giants of French cuisine.

The setback for the Auberge du Pont de Collonges comes despite efforts to modernise its look and menu, pursuing a philosophy that its management describes as "tradition in motion".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE