The European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD) has not been implemented in France yet. A bill was introduced by the Ministry of Culture in Parliament on November 12, 2003. The examination of the Bill by the Parliament, lately scheduled in the beginning of June, then in mid July, is postponed to the next session of Parliament, at the soonest in October (2005).

The protection of technical measures is provided under new provisions introduced in Book III, Title III (Procedure and Sanctions) of the French Copyright Act ("Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle"). In accordance with the Directive, effective technical measures shall be protected against both the act of damaging technical measures and the preparatory activities to this act. In keeping with the French traditional approach to copyright law, this bill, very firm and cautious, definitely favours  rightholders.

Anne-Catherine Lorrain and Thierry Maillard from the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche en Droit de l'Immatériel (CERDI), Université Paris-Sud 11, have created an overview of the legislation in France.   Read the complete overview here.