Roman Polanski: Paris screening of An Officer and a Spy shut down by protestors following new rape allegation

Demonstrators carried placards bearing the names of women who have accused the director of sexual assault

Banners reading 'I accuse: Polanski Rapist' could be seen during the protest (AFP via Getty Images)

A Paris screening of Roman Polanski’s new film An Officer and a Spy was shut down after protesters gathered at the event.

There were around 40 people blocking the entrance to a premiere of the movie in the French city on Tuesday night, with France Info reporting that the group were dressed in black, holding red smoke-generating canisters and signs bearing the names of women who have accused the director of rape.

Demonstrations in front of the Le Champo cinema lasted approximately an hour before the screening was cancelled.

The protests come in the wake of a new allegation of rape against the director by French photographer Valentine Monnier, who accused him of assaulting her at his Swiss chalet in 1975.

Polanski has denied the allegations.

He is now considering legal action against Le Parisien, the French outlet that published the accusations.

Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl and has been a fugitive from the US for four decades.

An Officer and a Spy premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the Grand Jury Prize.