Drone permits in France
A drone shot in France is never covered by your ground permit. It needs its own authorisation, from different authorities, on a longer clock, flown by a certified operator. Here is how it works and how we fit it into the rest of the schedule.
01
The rule
Air is not groundFrench filming permits follow ownership: the commune owns the street, the département the road, the forestry office the forest. The air above all of them belongs to none of them. It is regulated by the civil aviation authority (DGAC) and, locally, by the prefecture of the département you fly in.
So a drone shot is always a separate authorisation from the ground permit. A commune can give you its street; it cannot give you the sky over it. Productions that discover this on the recce lose the shot, because the drone file runs on its own clock, indicatively 3 to 6 weeks, and that clock does not compress.
Three consequences for your schedule:
- File the drone first. It is usually the longest lead on a shoot without heritage or defence sites.
- The ground owner still has a say. Take-off and landing happen on someone's land: the commune, a private owner, the coastal conservancy, the forestry office. That needs its own agreement.
- One flight, several airspaces. A travelling shot along a coast or a road can cross more than one zone, each assessed on its own terms.
02
Where it gets hard
Restricted by defaultZoneWhy it is restrictedWhat it means for you
Airports and approachesIncluding smaller airfieldsAir traffic, controlled airspaceSome locations near the coast and major cities simply will not clear at drone height
Military sitesBases, training areas, sensitive installationsNational defenceLong lead, heavy vetting, often a no; consider a ground or aerial alternative
Dense urban areasTowns and cities, crowdsRisk to people belowSpecific conditions, perimeters, sometimes road closures on the ground
ParisThe capitalDense urban, sensitive sites, its own airspace constraintsHeavily restricted; plan alternatives before you promise a drone shot over the city
Protected natural sitesCoast, parks, nesting areasWildlife and site protectionSeasonal closures, separate agreement from the site manager
EventsFestivals, races, state ceremoniesTemporary restrictionsCannes in May, the Tour de France, Bastille Day: assume the airspace is closed to you unless cleared
Paris from the air is usually not a drone shot
Foreign productions often script an aerial over Paris as if it were a drone job. In practice the capital is one of the most restricted airspaces in France, and the answer for most commercial shoots is no, or not in your window. When a client needs that shot, we work out the alternative early: a different city, an approved location outside the restricted area, an elevated position on a rooftop, or another aerial solution. Knowing this at the bid stage saves you a line in the budget and an argument on the day.
03
How we run a drone file
Inside the full permit plan01Check the airspaceEvery take-off point and flight path mapped against restricted zones before anything is promised to the client. What will not clear, we say on day one.01
02Choose the operatorA certified French drone operator, with the right category of authorisation and insurance for the flight. The operator, not the production, flies and carries the aviation side.02
03File with DGAC and prefectureFlight file prepared with the operator: locations, heights, times, perimeter on the ground, safety measures.03
04Clear the groundTake-off and landing agreements with the commune, owner or site manager, and any ground perimeter the prefecture requires.04
05Fly on the dayAuthorisations printed on set, perimeter managed by our crew, the weather call made with the pilot.05
Cost lever. On a Riviera shoot crossing sixteen communes, filing the drone airspace and the departmental road together, rather than commune by commune, was part of what brought the permit package from €29,900 to €12,900. Same flights, same clearances. See what drives the cost of filming in France.
04
Where we fly most
Regions with drone workMuch of the drone work we see is on the French Riviera and Monaco, where automotive, luxury and travel campaigns want the coastline from above, and where airports, protected coast and events stack up. Monaco has its own rules as a separate state. In Normandy and Brittany the coast is more open but the protected sites and commemorations still apply; in Lyon and the Alps the prefecture covers mountain airspace and weather windows are short.
We are a production service company working across France from Paris and Cannes. We bring in the drone operator, file the airspace and the ground in parallel, and fold it into the same schedule as the rest of your shooting permits. For kit, the drone comes with its pilot.
2026Riviera permit packageClient under NDACoastal travelling shots across sixteen communes with drone authorisation and heritage clearance at two stops. €29,900 down to €12,900.Wrapped
2025Adidas × Edison ChenCannes & Monaco GPCampaign shot during the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, two of the most controlled weeks on the coast.Wrapped
Do I need a separate permit to fly a drone for filming in France?
Yes, always. A drone flight needs its own authorisation from the civil aviation authority (DGAC) and the prefecture of the département, separate from any ground filming permit. The take-off and landing site also needs the agreement of whoever owns that ground.
How long does a drone filming authorisation take in France?
Indicatively 3 to 6 weeks, confirmed per project. It is often the longest lead on a shoot, so file it first and in parallel with the ground permits. Drone files near restricted zones or during events take longer, or do not clear.
Can you fly a drone over Paris for a film shoot?
Paris is heavily restricted airspace, and most commercial drone requests over the city do not clear, or not in a usual production window. We assess each request, and when the answer is no, we propose alternatives early: another location, an elevated position, or another aerial solution.
Can our own drone pilot fly in France?
The flight has to be carried by an operator with the right French or European authorisation and insurance for the category of flight. In practice we work with certified French operators who know the local files and the prefectures, which is faster than qualifying a foreign pilot for one shoot.
Where are drones restricted in France?
Near airports and their approaches, over and around military sites, over dense urban areas, over protected natural sites in season, and during major events. A single travelling shot can cross several of these zones, and each is assessed separately.
Tell us what you need to shoot.
Format, dates, locations, crew size. We come back within three hours with what is possible and what is not.