The European Union's highest court has ruled France is breaking European Union law by maintaining a ban on British beef over fears that it is not safe from mad cow disease.
"The court declares unlawful France's refusal to lift the ban on correctly marked or labelled imports of British beef and veal from 30th December 1999," the European Court of Justice said in a statement today.
French Prime Minister Mr Lionel Jospin's government will have to choose whether to end the ban or face the prospect of more legal action that could result in huge fines.
The case stems from France's refusal to comply with a European Commission decision in 1999 to ease a year worldwide embargo on British beef exports, imposed over fears about mad cow disease.
France's unilateral embargo sparked a trade row, with British farmers threatening tit-for-tat bans on French goods. Ultimately, the commission sued France to try to force it to respect EU law.