France has become the latest country to take action to block The Pirate Bay.

A court in Paris ordered main internet providers to block access to the Swedish file-sharing website.

It follows legal action brought by the anti-piracy group SCPP (la Société Civile des Producteurs Phonographiques), representing some 2,000 music labels and video producers, including international companies such as Sony, Universal and Warner.

In a statement, the SCPP welcomed the ruling as “another step in the fight against music piracy”.

The internet providers mentioned in the judgement have two weeks to comply.

Other countries including Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands have made similar moves.

A survey published in July found that nearly a third of internet users in France visited an illegal file-sharing website specialising in films or music at least once a month.

In November one of The Pirate Bay’s co-founders, Peter Sunde, was released from jail after serving several months for aiding and abetting copyright crime.

Together with the site’s three other co-founders, he had been sentenced to jail and a fine of 46 million Swedish krona (5 million euros).