Four French porn actors have been charged with rape following a string of abuse claims by women in what has been described as the industry's #MeToo moment, judicial sources said Thursday.

Three of the four actors charged on October 22 over videos available for streaming on the ‘French Bukkake’ website have been taken into custody, the sources said.

This is the first time porn actors in France have been charged with rape, a year after women began speaking out about the abuse they suffered on amateur as well as professional porn film sets.

Last year, four people were charged with pimping and modern slavery over the allegations targeting ‘French Bukkake’, including two porn film producers, who go by the pseudonyms Mat Hadix and Pascal OP. 

A source close to the investigation said around 50 abuse victims had been identified.

Prosecutors are also investigating the ‘Jacquie et Michel’ website, which bills itself as a hub for "amateur" porn videos and which has also been the target of abuse claims by women who say they have suffered violence on set.

One actress, who did not want to be named, told AFP at the time that a director forced her into practices that left her in pain for days, and that she was coerced into unprotected sex with a man who had lied about having tested negative for a sexually transmitted disease.

Dozens of women have come forward with abuse stories after feminists began campaigning to lift the taboo over violence in an industry in which women have long been portrayed as consenting to such acts.

France is not the only country whose porn industry is under investigation. In the US, porn star Ron Jeremy was this year charged with rape or sexual assault of 21 women and girls.