France Plans to Monitor, Foil Illegal Downloaders

'Dark Knight' and 'Transformers' aren't far behind

(NEWSER) - The 2009 3D blockbuster Avatar ranks No. 1 on the list of most pirated movies, reports MovieFone via TorrentFreak . Despite director James Cameron's prediction that 3D would discourage illegal copies, pirates still downloaded Avatar 21 million times. (It's still the highest-grossing movie of all time.) Runners-up for most pirated include the Dark Knight and Transformers, each with 19 million downloads, followed by Inception (18 million) and the Hangover (17 million). Full list here . More»

Sarkozy's anti-piracy campaign gets into gear

(NEWSER) - France's campaign to stop illegal downloads is well under way, with the program nicknamed Big Brother sending out warning emails to 100,000 people so far, reports the Guardian . Repeat offenders—whose details are gleaned through service providers—face fines and banishment from the web for a year. It's a pet program of President Nicolas Sarkozy and his singer wife Carla Bruni as a way to protect artists, though critics say it's a violation of civil liberties and ineffective to boot. More»

(NEWSER) - The French legislature has put a stop—for now—to an anti-piracy law that would deny Internet access to repeat offenders, AFP reports. The law, a pet of President Nicolas Sarkozy, would deal the ultimate blow to illegal downloaders after three strikes, and replace the current regime of fines and prison time. An opposition leader called the vote, encouraged by the telecom industry and privacy advocates, a “personal defeat” for Sarko. More»

Centers on alleged 2010 incident in Washington, DC

(NEWSER) - More hot water for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and once again it's US-flavored: A French prosecutor today opened a preliminary investigation into an alleged gang rape in Washington, DC, CNN reports. In the course of France's probe into Strauss-Kahn's alleged participation in a prostitution ring, the gang-rape allegations surfaced; a Belgian prostitute reportedly told police that DSK and three friends made her perform non-consensual sex acts in a DC hotel in December 2010. More»

Crazy Horse dancers win 15% pay hike

(NEWSER) - The dancers are back and the tops are off again at Paris' famous Crazy Horse cabaret after a successful strike. The club—a favorite with generations of Parisians and tourists—was forced to cancel shows this week for the first time in its 61-year history after its 18 stripping performers demanded a pay hike, Reuters reports. More»