YouTube (and Google France) announced today on the YouTube blog that starting today it is making movies available for rent to French Google Play users. Partners in the new offering include independent French studios Cinéma(s) à la Demande, EuropaCorp, M6 Video / SND, Under The Milky Way, UniversCiné and Wild Side, and also major companies Disney Europe, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment France.

As the site launches, hundreds of movies — including full-length features from Google/YouTube’s studio partners — will be available for French viewers, with more to come in the following months. Available films range from recent blockbusters like Titin and Twilight Chapitre 4 to artsier stuff li Le Bal Des Actrices and La Grotte Des Rêves Perdus. Films will be available for streaming and download to androids and tablets, both in standard and in high definition.

I don’t know if pricing is really as competitive as Google claims, but the cost of renting a standard def new release will start at €3.99, and library titles will start at €2.99. Users can get high definition versions for a euro more.

Viewers will have 30 days to start watching the movies they rent, and once they’ve started the film, they’ll have 48 hours to finish.