That’s right. France. That’s because France’s National Assembly, the country’s lower legislative body, recently voted 286-193 to approve a bill requiring manufacturers to share proprietary technology, thus paving the way for the day when all DRM technologies are treated equally and will play on all players throughout the land.

File incompatibility has been a major issue, not only among companies producing players but with consumers as well. Songs purchased from iTunes will only play on iPods, while songs purchased from Napster, RealNetworks, or online commerce stores such as Wal-Mart.com will play on almost anything besides an iPod. DRM incompatibility is one of the major stumbling blocks for online music success. After all, can you imagine what kind of world this would be if certain CDs only played on certain CD players?

The file compatibility legislation is part of an overall online copyright bill making its way through the French government. The bill, which has yet to be debated in the French Senate, also calls for stiffer penalties for music pirates.

Current French law regards file sharing akin to criminal counterfeiting, punishable by a euro 300,000 ($365,000) maximum fine and a jail term.

However, that penalty is rarely enforced, and the new legislation calls for more enforcement along with reduced fines of euro 38 to euro 150 ($50 to $180) for those caught swapping copyrighted files for personal use. Those convicted of hacking DRM technology or various forms of encryption used on CDs and DVDs could be fined as much as euro 3,750 ($4,600), while anyone convicted of distributing software for online piracy could face fines as high as euro 300,000 ($365,000) and a stretch in the big house.

But it’s the few lines of legislative code about opening up proprietary DRM technology that has caught everyone’s attention. As you can guess, Apple is none too pleased with the proposed law.

“If this happens, legal music sales will plummet just when legitimate alternatives to piracy are winning over customers,” Apple said in a statement. “IPod sales will likely increase as users freely load their iPods with ‘interoperable’ music which cannot be adequately protected. Free movies for iPods should not be far behind in what will rapidly become a state-sponsored culture of piracy.”

Translated into plain-speak, Apple is warning that they cannot guarantee copyright protection if the company is forced to license its DRM technology to other player manufacturers. Furthermore, the company sends a good dose of fear Hollywood’s way by saying the fledgling movie download biz will be threatened as well.

French legislators have given several reasons for wanting to open up proprietary DRM technology. One reason includes claims that the current system might foster a monopoly for certain manufacturers (such as those named after a fruit). Other reasons include the belief that universal compatibility will enable growth in the online industry, with consumers benefitting from cross-platform playability.

However, French lawmakers also claimed that they are not targeting Apple. Instead, they say compatibility will discourage online piracy by offering more legal ways to download music.

“When this happens, iTunes will have the French government to thank for making it possible to draw so many Internet users towards legal platforms,” a spokesman for France’s Culture Minister said.

The bill has only passed the lower house and has yet to be debated in the French Senate, a process expected to begin in May. Of course, if the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law, it only applies to players sold in France.

However, it’s hard to imagine a world where cross-compatibility is the law of the land in only one country. Almost as hard as imagining Steve Jobs thanking France for showing him the light.