French publishers to Google….”Non”

According to an article in Bookseller.com, three major French publishers are filing lawsuits against Google for the illegal scanning of their catalogue.

The action comes after extended efforts on the publisher’s part to stop the scanning:

In 2006, Gallimard was the first French publisher to demand that Google withdraw its titles from the US firm’s database. After a pause of six months, Google resumed scanning Gallimard titles and has continued ever since: “We have asked Google for a complete list of our titles it has scanned so far, but have had no reply,” Amor said.

French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand will discuss the issue during a planned trip to Google’s California headquarters in July.

He’s not the first French politician to take on Google.  President Sarkozy reacted negatively to GBS 2.0 in December, stating he would block Google from digitizing “France’s heritage.”