The list of removed links comprises pro-nazi anti-Semitic sites, and also a fundamental Christian anti-abortion site, according to a report from Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society which has been researching Google's practices.
Under German law, the publication of material considered to incite racial and ethnic hatred, such as Holocaust denials, is an offence. France has passed similar legislation, which was used by anti-racism groups to sue Yahoo! for allowing nazi memorabilia to be sold on its US auction site.
According to the Harvard report, some sites excluded from the google.fr and google.de listings, such as a Chinese legal consultation network and a discount web hosting service, do not appear to violate either French or German laws.
Google's users in France and Germany are still able to access the main google.com web site.