PARIS: Controversial film director Roman Polanski said on Thursday he would not attend the French Oscars because he fears a `public lynching` by feminist activists.

The veteran is at the centre of a storm of protest after his new film about the Dreyfus affair, `An Officer and a Spy`, topped the list of nominations for the Cesar awards, which will be presented in Paris on Friday night.

France`s equality minister and feminists were outraged at his 12 nominations, including for best film, given that Polanski is still wanted in the United States for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

`We know how this evening will unfold already, Polanski said in a statement to AFP as posters appeared at the theatre that will host the ceremony condemning him as a rapist and sex criminal. `Activists are alreadythreatening me with a public lynching, with some saying they are going to protest outside,` the 87-year-old added.

`What place can there be in such deplorable conditions for a film about the defence of truth, the fight for justice, blind hate and anti-Semitism?` Earlier this week, French star Adele Haenel, who last year accused the director of her first film of sexually harassing her when she was only 12, blasted the Cesars for honouring Polanski.-AFP