Overview:

In Detail:

An important distinction in French law applies to commercial use. If you want to use your drone commercially in France, you have to clarify this here. Every drone has to be registered, this has to be done on the website Alphatango. As always, it is important to respect the privacy of other people and not to take any risks. The above mentioned zones can be found on the official no-fly zone map of France. This map does not show the prohibited zones in residential areas, industrial zones and parks. The temporary no-fly zones are also missing (e.g. due to breeding periods of certain bird species). For the temporary zones you have to inform yourself in a town hall. With a click on the zones the respective maximum flight altitude is displayed. The law does not explicitly mention a ban on drones at police or rescue sites, which is pretty self-evident. In principle, the drone should never be used in the vicinity of rescue services or the police, as helicopters could always be deployed there, which would then have to abort their flight. In any case, the privacy of individuals must always be respected. In France, the drone is only allowed to fly during the day. From an insurance point of view, the drone pilot must ensure adequate insurance cover.

Exceptions:

If you want to fly near an airfield, you have to get a permit from the civil aviation authority. If you want to fly over certain places, cities or other prohibited areas, you must report to a local office at the Direction générale de l’aviation civile (General Directorate of Civil Aviation).

Important links:

• Website of the french administration