A French court has ordered broadcaster TF1 and TV production house Endemol to compensate two Miss France finalists for showing their bare breasts on the air.

Each of the two women, who were filmed partially unclothed while changing costumes backstage, will receive 40,000 euros ($43,000), the court in northeastern city Lille ruled in a judgement seen by AFP Wednesday.

The payment covers psychological harm as well as infringement of the womens rights to their images and private life.

Judges found that the plaintiffs, from the Aquitaine region and the island of Corsica, were identifiable in the December 2018 broadcast and had given no authorisation to be filmed unclothed.

The womens lawyers, Catherine Laforet and Violaine de Filippis, said a camera was set up in the changing rooms without their being informed.

Court rulings like this are important as they recall that the bodies of candidates, and women in general, are not goods at the disposal of the production companies, the lawyers said in a statement.

The 2018 Miss France final was watched by almost eight million viewers, Laforet and de Filippis added.

Images from the show are shared to this day, especially on pornographic websites, they said.

Neither TF1 or Endemol replied immediately to AFPs requests for comment. (AFP)