French Creation and Internet bill falls at final hurdle

The French National Assembly has rejected the proposed Creation and Internet law at its final hurdle, despite having approved the controversial three-strikes section last week. And check this: just 36 out of 577 politicians turned up to the crucial vote, which saw the bill defeated by 21 votes to 15.IFPI boss John Kennedy expressed disappointment at the news, but said “we understand that the French government will be resubmitting the law very shortly”. Local industry bodies Sacem and UPFI have expressed similar frustration at the news.Such a low turnout may reflect politicians' fears over how the proposed law would be seen by their electorates, although Billboard suggests the cause of the rejection was the inclusion of a new clause stipulating that consumers whose internet access was cut off under the three-strikes provision would still have to pay for it.