Victor Hugo

France has launched a year of tribute to literary legend Victor Hugo, marking the 200th anniversary of his birth on February 26.

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin led a band of politicians and writers Monday to the eastern town of Besancon, Victor Hugo's birthplace, for a special ceremony.

Political upheaval forced Hugo into exile for almost 20 years. While in exile, he wrote Les Miserables, the story of a man who is imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread.

He also wrote Notre Dame de Paris, still popular on stage and screen today as The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The revered poet, novelist and politician was mourned by a crowd of two million people at his funeral in Paris in 1885.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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