More than 777,000 euros worth of jewels have been stolen from a hotel in Cannes.

French police say the jewels were to be loaned to stars appearing at the famous annual film festival on the French Riviera.

They were taken from the hotel room of an employee of exclusive Swiss jewellers Chopard in the early hours of this morning.

Police say the thieves ripped the safe containing the jewels from a wall of the room at the Novotel hotel.

Festival officials said the Palme d'Or was not among the stolen items.

Celebrities choosing the Swiss firm's gems for their red carpet appearances at this year's festival include Julianne Moore (pictured), Lana Del Rey and Cindy Crawford.

The theft happened a few hours after the festival was shown The Bling Ring, a new film by director Sofia Coppola.