France has long defended its ‘exception culturelle' with subsidies, quotas and tax breaks to protect French films, music and television from the ravages of a market economy.

Now it is arming itself to fight the digital dominance of Netflix, the £100 billion American film and television streaming service.

France’s three biggest broadcasters have set aside their rivalry to form an unprecedented alliance to take on the American colossus with encouragement from the government.

France Télévisions, the state-owned public service network, is joining forces with the main private network, TF1, and M6, the country’s most profitable private channel. Together, they are to launch a subscription service called Salto next year, offering a back catalogue of French TV shows and original content.

“The time has finally come to rebel against the Americans, Netflix and also Google, Amazon and Apple,” the weekly news magazine L’Express said.

It will be a David versus Goliath battle. Despite a hostile reception from state-subsidised local media when Netflix launched in France four years ago, it has gained 3.5 million subscribers in the country.

Salto’s initial £45 million budget is dwarfed by the £6 billion Netflix is spending on content this year.

Some French commentators say the project is too little, too late, but others argue that France needs a platform for a distinctively French digital offering.