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The Syndicat National de l'Edition (SNE) has thrown its weight behind a suit filed by La Matinière Group, an international publisher of illustrated books, which accuses Google of counterfeiting and demands that it stop scanning its books and pays €1 million damages.

'We know that Google is powerful, but they have to show some respect for books,' a company spokeswoman said.

SNE said that it was defending the interests of the publishing profession against Google's lack of respect for intellectual property laws.

Google declined to comment as its problems in Europe escalate. The company is also facing legal action from Belgian publishers over its use of their content on its News service.