Ryanair has two planes based at its Marseilles hub

Ryanair said the laws were designed to impose French laws on foreign airlines with planes based in France.

The decree breaks European laws on free movement of labour and services and aims to discourage foreign airlines from setting up in France, it said.

The Irish firm has also petitioned the European Commission over the laws.

Ryanair hopes to persuade Brussels to overturn the French decree.

"Ryanair has filed a legal action in the French Conseil d'Etat requesting it to overturn this unlawful and anticompetitive labour decree," said Jim Callaghan, Ryanair's head of regulatory affairs.

"This decree is clearly designed to discourage foreign airlines from establishing a base of operations in France in order to compete with the high fare monopoly, Air France," he added.