The French video and digital publishers’ association, SEVN, is lobbying to ensure that funds from a big national loan be earmarked to digitise 5,000 French feature films over five years.

Dubbed the ‘grand emprunt,’ the public loan proposed by President Nicolas Sarkozy in June is meant to fund strategic investment in infrastructure in key sectors to underpin economic growth. Original expectations that the loan could total as much as €100 billion have since been wound back, with recent estimates putting the likely total at about €30 billion, almost all to be raised now from financial markets.

SEVN proposals call for the digitisation in high definition of 1,000 films every year covering two decades of French cinema. These titles are to be distributed on DVD, Blu-ray discs and in digital form on video-on-demand.

This work programme, part of a project launched by the Centre national de la cinématographie (CNC) – the national film office – will be presented to the Ministry of Culture and the commission in charge of allocating ‘grand emprunt’ funding.

The aim of this film digitisation project is to broaden the legal offer and make available to consumers cinema titles out of circulation or on obsolete media. “It is thus a big push to help all sectors of the French film industry severely damaged by illegal downloads and the economic crisis,” says SEVN.

A special commission examining options for the loan is expected to make its recommendations by 10 November, with the financial conditions to be decided by the beginning of next year, after a political debate.

On another front, SEVN welcomes the final approval by the Conseil constitutionnel (high court) on 23 October of the graduated response – or ‘three-strikes” procedure – included in the so-called Hadopi 2, a bill that would cut off internet access to people who repeatedly download copyrighted content illegally.

Although the bill was approved by the National Assembly and Senate in September it had to wait for final approval from the highest court of the land, who decides whether legislation is constitutional. Illegal downloaders will get two warnings from Hadopi then their case will be passed to a judge who can impose an ordonnance pénale to cut internet access for up to a year plus a fine.

SEVN hopes that anti-piracy enforcement will be set in motion speedily.

Story filed 03.11.09