MUMBAI: France‘s culture minister Aurélie Filippetti has urged the Indian film industry to consider France over other European countries like Switzerland for shooting mountain scenes.

Filipetti, who is part of the entourage accompanying President François Hollande, reasoned that France under the Socialist government has brought about changes in tax and visa regulations to make it a preferred shooting destination.

"In the world of Indian cinema, particularly Bollywood, mountain scenes are often filmed in Switzerland or the Czech Republic," Filipetti told reports.

"So in France we have introduced tax breaks and more flexible visa regulations for foreign artists and technicians in order to better accommodate them. I hope we can welcome more Indian artists so that the French mountains can become a part of Indian filmmaking," she added.

India cinema which has completed 100 years will serve as guest of honour at the Cannes Film Festival in May.