France marks 400 years of Moliere, master of stage and satire

Moliere's plays alone will be performed at the Paris monument to Moliere until July, which started yesterday with the orginal censored version of 'Tartuffe', which will be shown live in cinemas too. Photo: AFP

France has launched a year of events to mark the 400th anniversary of Moliere, the nation's most illustrious and ever popular master of the stage and satire.

Baptised on January 15, 1622, and probably born a day or two before, Moliere - real name Jean-Baptiste Poquelin - remains as central to French culture as Shakespeare to the English-speaking world.