A French photographer who supplies pictures to pornographic magazines has been jailed for five years for procuring prostitutes for high-paying clients.

A court in Paris heard that the man, Jean-Pierre Bourgeois, ran an international network of prostitutes catering for rich businessmen and film stars, who would pay up to three-and-a-half-thousand dollars for assignations.

Nearly a year ago, the American star, Robert de Niro, threatened to return his Legion of Honour -- one of France's most prestigious decorations -- after he was questioned for nine hours by investigators into the case.

The court also jailed a Lebanese, Nazih Abdullatif al-Ladki, for ten years and fined a Swede, Thomas Axell, more than nine-thousand dollars for helping in the network.