France managed to hold on to its broadcast quotas in the Nice Treaty finally signed by the 15 member states of the European Union on Monday (Dec 11).

France, which has been striving to protect what it describes as the European Union's "cultural diversity", successfully retained its veto on decisions affecting trade in financial services and cultural goods such as film.

The treaty, which scraps national vetoes in such areas as copyrights, trademarks and services, is meant to strengthen the European Commission's power in the negotiation of free trade agreements.