TEHRAN Over 98 million people went to the movies in France during the first six months of 2001, a new world record.

According to statistics, this is a 10-percent rise since last year. The French films ranked first, and the American films ranked 5th and 6th.

This is an encouraging sign for the French people, indicating that they have strengthened their national cinema and prevented the culture of U.S. cinema from imposing itself in France. The year 2000 had been described as a "bad year" for French cinema.