A French judicial court ordered the blocking of the prominent manga piracy website Japscan on July 23, 2025, following legal action by France’s national publishing union, the Syndicat national de l’édition (SNE), and nine of its member publishers including Casterman, Crunchyroll, Delcourt, Glénat, Kana, Ki-oon (AC Média), Kurokawa, Panini, and Pika.
Japscan, which specialized in Asian comics including manga, manhwa, and manhua, offered nearly 13,000 unlicensed titles attracting more than 690,000 unique monthly visitors in France.
The ruling against Japscan marks a significant development, as France ramps up its efforts to counter manga piracy following the footsteps of Japanese publishers.
Manga is a hot commodity in France. A 2021 report noted that 40% of France’s comics market was occupied by Japanese manga. Recent launches, including Kagurabachi, had created considerable hype in the fandom there. Naturally, a decline in sales due to piracy was seen as a major hurdle to the manga sector’s growth in the country.
Vincent Montagne, president of the SNE, stated that the organization was actively fighting piracy. He noted this action followed two recent court victories that resulted in the blocking of the Z-Library website and confirmed the union’s commitment to defending copyright.
Benoit Pollet, president of the SNE’s manga group, added that all publishers within the group were united in what he described as an unprecedented legal action. He explained their aim was to contribute collectively to initiatives that would make the estimated 7 million manga readers in France aware of these illegal practices.
The SNE indicated that this case was part of a broader strategy to challenge counterfeit sites regardless of their size or organization, to the detriment of legal platforms.
Following the ruling, the SNE is now petitioning for increased powers to combat piracy more effectively. The union requested that professional organizations be granted the ability to use ARCOM, the French telecoms regulator, to extend judicial blocking orders to new domain names and mirror sites that emerge after a ruling.
They noted that a revision of Article L.331-27 of the Intellectual Property Code was urgently needed to remove its current limitations.
In its statement, the SNE asserted that book piracy undermines the remuneration of creators and publishers, posing a threat to the entire book ecosystem, including booksellers, and harms cultural diversity.
Source: Official statement from SNE
