France reduces legal quota on number of French songs DJs are forced to play

The quota will now be lowered from 40 per cent to 35 per cent, though stations will have to air more recent French music

French artists such as Daft Punk, are increasingly singing in English to attract an international audience (Karl Walter/Getty Images)

French MPs have voted in favour of reducing the country's legal quota for the amount of French songs played on the radio.

The 40 per cent quota was introduced in 1994 to protect France from what the government considered the "Anglo-Saxon cultural invasion," the Daily Telegraph reports.

However, the law has been an impediment to French artists such as Daft Punk, who are now singing in English to attract an international audience.

The quota will now be lowered to 35 per cent and radio stations specialising in foreign music will only have a 15 per cent quota.

Ten songs accounted for 74 per cent of French music aired on NRJ radio and 67 per cent on Skyrock, the culture ministry said in September.

French radio stations will also have to air more recent French songs, which some programmers fear may lead to a fall in quality as they may have to include unpublished songs.

Last September, French radio stations rebelled against the government's quotas by staging a 24-hour boycott.

Stations taking part in the boycott said the number of French-language albums produced dropped by 66 per cent between 2003 and 2014.