Elephant won the Palme d'Or at Cannes

The move follows a row in the US over the use of preview discs, which the industry says can prompt piracy.

The US film industry banned the sending of preview discs to award voters, but this was later challenged in court.

The DVD of Gus Van Sant's film Elephant turns black and becomes unusable with two days of being played, reports industry website Screen Daily.

The DVDs, which are designed to be disposable, will be sent to members of France's Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema, said the report.

Court order

Nominations for the Cesar awards will be announced in late January with the ceremony taking place on 21 February.

DISPOSABLE DVD Disney tests self-destruct DVDs Self-destruct DVDs explained

Independent film-makers won a temporary court order earlier this month stopping major film studios from enforcing a ban on videos being sent to awards judges.

Smaller producers feared that the ban on so-called "screeners" would damage their prospects of winning prizes at ceremonies such as the Golden Globes.

Explaining its stance on the ban, Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, said: "The impact and growing threat of piracy is real and must be addressed wherever it appears."

Elephant won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year and is based on the shootings at Columbine High School in the US in 1999.