Lawmakers in France's lower house of parliament have voted to legalise file-sharing over peer-to-peer networks provided users pay a flat royalty fee of around £5.

The measure was introduced as an amendment to a government-backed bill that would have tightened digital copyright laws. The 30-28 vote in favour of legalising P2P sharing of movies and music is being seen as a major setback for the French culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, who introduced legislation that would have levied heavy fines and prison terms on those caught pirating copyrighted material.

Organisations representing the French entertainment industry have united in opposition to the bill in an attempt to dissuade lawmakers in the upper house of the French legislature from approving the measure.

"This could be a catastrophe for French cinema, affecting present and future generations of creators and artists," said Alain Terzian, head of the French film producers' union UPF.

Consumer groups, however, were pleased with the vote. UFC, a large consumer group in France, said that the measure was a "new area of freedom allowing Internet users access to cultural diversity and fair payment for creators."