French music sales drop, music industry to take legal actions against file sharers

Rony said that while lawsuits against French
file-sharers, or "uploaders," was inevitable, he could not say when. He
said there was some urgency though as a number of industry-backed services
were set to launch this year, including Apple Computer's. "If we want to
convince consumers to go off the illegal offers you have to take out the
stick," Rony said.

French law does not offer the same levels of protection to copyright
holders as British and American laws afford. For this reason, Rony said a
legal crusade could be hard to stir in France. "It will be difficult
convincing parliament," he said, adding that the French Ministry of
Culture had already expressed its support.