Many of the contestants are now minor celebrities

The winners of France's answer to the international Big Brother phenomenon are Loana, a former go-go dancer and Christophe, a sociology student.

The show started in April with six men and five women, all telegenic 20-something singles sharing a house north of Paris, their steamy encounters broadcast on television and on the internet.

Partner hunt

Every week, viewers ousted one contestant.

The players were encouraged to find a partner, to live in a dream home.

Concerned by complaints about, among other things, the contestants' naked romps, France's broadcasting regulators forced the producers to allow the contestants one hour's off-screen break a day.

After a 10-day break, Loana and Christophe will have to live together in their Cote D'Azur prize house for another 45 days under monitored surveillance before they are finally deemed winners.

Prize

The winning pair will walk away with 1.5 million francs ($200,000) each in prize money.

Since it first began Loft Story has topped the ratings, drawing an average of seven to 10 million viewers for each show.

But the intelligentsia have been less enthusiastic.

In an essay entitled I Loft You, philosophy teacher Vincent Cespedes said the programme "accelerated the withering away of integrity, honesty and culture in millions of adolescents".

"One can only hope the youth will ultimately find it an indigestible object which they are obliged to vomit forth," he wrote.