By Dr Estelle Ivanova, Attorney at Law, Paris, France
Introduction
Illegal streaming of live sporting events in France has become a major economic challenge for the French sports industry.
According to the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM), the illicit consumption of audiovisual content and live sports broadcasts generated an estimated loss of €1.5 billion in 2023, including approximately €290 million for the sports sector alone.
Given that broadcasting rights constitute one of the main sources of revenue for professional sport, combating audiovisual piracy has become a regulatory priority. Between January and August 2024, 1,922 illegal services were blocked at the request of ARCOM, exceeding the total number blocked during the whole of 2023 (1,544), with an increasing proportion involving illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) services.
The current anti-piracy framework was introduced by Law No. 2021-1382 of 25 October 2021 on the regulation and protection of access to cultural works in the digital age, which inserted Articles L.333-10 and L.333-11 into the French Sports Code. Designed specifically to address the urgency of unlawful live sports streaming, the mechanism recognises that the harm caused by illegal broadcasts is instantaneous and irreversible, requiring swift and effective intervention during live sporting events.
Since its introduction in 2021, the French dynamic blocking mechanism has progressively evolved from a judicially supervised enforcement tool into an increasingly automated and technologically sophisticated anti-piracy framework, culminating in the 2026 reform.
The French Dynamic Blocking Framework
The French anti-piracy framework is based on a hybrid judicial-administrative approach, combining judicial oversight with ARCOM implementation of dynamic blocking measures. The mechanism is available to the holders of exclusive audiovisual rights, including sports governing bodies, organisers of sporting events, professional leagues and authorised broadcasters.
Under Article L.333-10 of the French Sports Code, where serious and repeated infringements of exclusive audiovisual rights are established, the President of the Judicial Court may order proportionate measures, including the blocking, removal or de-indexing of online services illegally broadcasting sporting events. The judicial order may cover both services already identified and online services that have not yet been identified, allowing the implementation of so-called "dynamic blocking" measures designed to remain effective throughout the authorised broadcast of the sporting competition.
During the period covered by the judicial injunction, rights holders may notify newly identified illegal services to ARCOM. After verifying that those services fall within the scope of the judicial order, ARCOM notifies the relevant intermediaries so that the blocking measures can be implemented. This mechanism enables blocking measures to be updated throughout the authorised broadcast, thereby preserving the effectiveness of the judicial order against newly identified infringing services.
The Evolution of Dynamic Blocking
One of the main challenges in combating sports piracy is the rapid proliferation of so-called "mirror sites", namely websites reproducing identical unlawful content under newly created domain names in order to circumvent existing blocking measures. The French legal framework specifically addresses this practice by allowing blocking measures to be updated in respect of newly identified infringing services.
Beyond the judicial mechanism itself, ARCOM has also sought to strengthen the operational implementation of dynamic blocking measures. On 6 May 2026, it adopted two model agreements: one governing cooperation between rights holders and search engine operators in relation to de-indexing measures, and the other governing cooperation with technical intermediaries responsible for implementing blocking measures, including DNS (Domain Name System) resolution services and VPN (Virtual Private Network) providers. Together, these models are intended to streamline both the judicial and operational implementation of dynamic blocking measures.
A significant technological development occurred during the 2026 Roland Garros tennis tournament. Following an order of the President of the Paris Judicial Court of 13 May 2026, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) became the first sports rights holder in France to test IP-address blocking against illegal streaming services. Conducted under the existing provisions of the French Sports Code, in cooperation with ARCOM and the main Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the test demonstrated that IP-address blocking could be implemented within the existing legal framework. By targeting the technical infrastructure used by illegal IPTV services rather than individual domain names, this approach offers a faster and more effective response to live sports piracy. The system was subsequently deployed on a larger scale during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A series of judgments delivered by the Paris Judicial Court on 8 and 9 July 2026 further extended the use of this mechanism to professional football. Applicable from the start of the 2026/2027 Ligue 2 BKT season on 8 August and the Ligue 1 McDonald's season on 21 August 2026, these injunctions simultaneously target a broad range of technical intermediaries, including ISPs, VPN providers, alternative DNS resolvers, CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) and search engines. They also enable the LFP (Professional Football League), under ARCOM's supervision, to obtain the blocking of newly identified pirate sites appearing during the season and their de-indexing from search engines. In addition, according to the LFP, these judgments pave the way for the wider use of IP-address blocking targeting the technical infrastructure of illegal IPTV services and for the future implementation of automated real-time IP blocking under ARCOM supervision.
Reinforcing the French Anti-Piracy Framework
This framework is now set to be further reinforced by the recently adopted Proposition de loi relative à l'organisation, à la gestion et au financement du sport professionnel, definitively adopted by the French Parliament on 21 July 2026. At the time of writing, the Bill is awaiting promulgation by the President of the Republic and, unless referred to the Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel), should be promulgated within the constitutional period of up to fifteen days, before its publication in the Journal officiel. Its implementation will then be progressive, with certain provisions entering into force on different dates or being subject to implementing decrees.
Building upon these recent developments, the reform introduces an automated mechanism supervised by ARCOM, reinforces cooperation with intermediaries and empowers the Authority to impose administrative sanctions where intermediaries fail to comply with blocking measures. The reform also creates new criminal offences targeting the operation of illegal sports streaming services; the habitual dissemination of unauthorised live sports broadcasts through online platforms; the manufacture or supply of devices and software facilitating unlawful access to protected content; and the promotion of such services. Most of these offences are punishable by up to three years' imprisonment and a fine of €300,000, with penalties increasing to seven years' imprisonment and a fine of €750,000 when committed by an organised criminal group. The promotion of such services is punishable by one year's imprisonment and a fine of €15,000.
The French approach is also consistent with the European Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/1018 on combating online piracy of sports and other live events, which encourages Member States to adopt rapid and effective measures capable of interrupting unlawful live transmissions before they lose their commercial value.
Taken as a whole, these developments reflect a broader strategy of progressively expanding anti-piracy enforcement to new technical intermediaries whilst combining judicial oversight, regulatory action by ARCOM and stronger criminal sanctions in order to preserve the commercial value of sports broadcasting rights, positioning France amongst the leading European jurisdictions in the fight against online sports piracy.
Dr Estelle Ivanova may be contacted by e-mail at ‘