In the future, I plan to fly a small (<250 gram) in France, are there any special licenses/permits that have to be obtained? What are the laws on this? Where are the no-fly zones located?
3 Answers
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You mention that this will be in the future. While the other answer covers the current situation well, you should note that the rules are due to be harmonised across Europe and this might introduce some changes.
https://dronerules.eu/en/recreational/eu_regulations_updates
The following image summarises the requirements for the new regulations:
This table refers to the new classes, which are intended to make it easier for a consumer to tell what they can do with their drone (new drones should show their class on their packaging) [source]:
Class C0 - (can be flown in all subcategories) Very small unmanned aircraft, including toys, that:
- are less than 250g maximum take-off mass
- have a maximum speed of 19m/s (approx. 42.5 mph)
- are unable to be flown more than 120m (400ft) from the controlling device
Class C1 – (can be flown in all subcategories) Unmanned aircraft that:
- are either:
- less than 900g maximum take-off mass, or;
- are made and perform in a way that if they collide with a human head, the energy transmitted will be less than 80 Joules
- have a maximum speed of 19m/s (approx. 42.5 mph)
- designed and constructed so as to minimise injury to people
The standards also cover other aspects such as noise limits, height limits and requirements for remote identification and geoawareness systems.
Class C2 – (can be flown in subcategory A2 [close to people] or A3 [far from people]) Unmanned aircraft that:
- are less than 4kg maximum take-off mass
- designed and constructed so as to minimise injury to people
- are equipped with a low-speed mode’ which limits the maximum speed to 3m/s(approx. 6.7 mph) when selected by the remote pilot
The standards also cover other aspects such as noise limits (but different from C1), height limits and requirements for remote identification and geoawareness systems, plus additional requirements if it is to be used during tethered flight.
Class C3 – (flown in subcategory A3 [far from people] only) Unmanned aircraft that possess automatic control modes (such as found in typical multicopter ‘drones’) which:
- are less than 25kg maximum take-off mass
The standards also cover other aspects covering height limits and requirements for remote identification and geoawareness systems. There are also additional requirements if it is to be used during tethered flight, but there is no specified noise limit (because the aircraft is intended to be flown ‘far from people’).
Class C4 – (flown in subcategory A3 [far from people] only) Unmanned aircraft that do not possess any automation, other than for basic flight stabilisation (and so are more representative of a ‘traditional’ model aircraft) which:
- Are less than 25kg maximum take-off mass
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$\begingroup$ Can you please clarify in your answer what the C0-C4 classes are? $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 17, 2020 at 13:47
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The French GOV website provides this information (translated into English):
Are there any special licenses/permits that have to be obtained?
Aircraft weighing less than 800g
Training is not compulsory, but remains highly recommended.
What are the laws on this?
These guidelines must be followed:
Protection of other airspace users
To limit the risk of collision, the regulations applicable to fixed leisure uses:
- A maximum flight height of 150m for remotely piloted aircraft
- Reduced maximum heights near airports or in low-lying areas of military aircraft
- No-fly zones for remotely piloted aircraft (immediate proximity to airports, military aircraft manoeuvring areas, etc.)
- A ban on flying at night
Protection of property and people on the ground
To limit the risk of damage to property and people on the ground, the regulations applicable to leisure use:
- Prohibited hovering over people
- Prohibited thefts in built-up areas above public space
- Fixed areas prohibited from overflight by remotely piloted aircraft, in order to protect sensitive sites (sensitive industrial sites, hospitals, prisons, nature reserves etc.)
Where are the no-fly zones located?
The no-fly zones in mainland France are listed on this map.
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The categories of drone operation and the requirements of licensing, certification and registration are already listed in other answers.
There are maps of various airspaces available by the individual member states usually provided by the civil aviation authorities. They are listed at https://www.eurocontrol.int/tool/uas-no-fly-areas-directory-information-resources For France the map listed there is https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/donnees/restrictions-pour-drones-de-loisir
Be aware that the maps available by the civil aviation authorities by the individual EU member states do not often show the whole picture. They list restricted and danger airspaces and the geo-zones protecting airports and helipads. Some of these restricted zones maybe there to protect nature.
However, very often, other UAS traffic in other areas is often forbidden by the law and not by explicit geographical zones. For example in Austria the map by Austrocontrol only shows the zones from the point of view of the air traffic control. But when you open the map of https://www.oeamtc.at/drohnen-karte/ you will see that there are many other areas like National parks, Nature protection areas and Bird areas, where the UAS traffic may be forbidden without the permission by the civil aviation authority.
Another point are protection zones that are defined around roads - especially highways, railroads and high-voltage transmission lines. They are not explicitly shown in these maps. You are supposed to know the distances you must hold.
Specifically, in France flying drones in the national parks can land you a high fine. The national parks are fortunately present at the geoportail.gouv.fr map.
But be careful, it may be complicated. For example, in the Czech republic the CAA map does show the national parks forbidden zones over national parks. However, the situation is quite unfortunately convoluted and UAS traffic is actually forbidden in all nature protection areas. The national parks are only a small part of these. Some of them are very small, some are even inside cities and people use them as parks.
Also temporary restrictions may not be present on the maps, even though the aviation authorities usually do place them there. Some of those that do not make it to the French map will be listed at https://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/
And theoretically, you should always also search whether there are any relevant NOTAMs published for your area.
A French specificity is the vast areas of urban areas, villages and even small settlements that are depicted as forbidden. The whole very large Paris agglomeration is a no-Fly zone. In many other EU member states you can find some allowed areas below some altitude even in the capital cities (e.g. the exception for light drones in restricted zone above the centre of Prague). This is not the case in France.
