Nestlé Purina
Brand shoot
2026 · France
Production service for the brand's shoot in France.
A commercial in Paris
Paris says yes to advertising more often than producers expect, and on rules most foreign bids never see: how many trucks you may park, which avenue the Police Prefecture keeps off limits, when the Eiffel Tower carries image rights. Here is what changes when the shoot is a commercial.
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What is different about a commercial in Paris
Read before the bidWe are a production service company working across France from Paris and Cannes, and commercials are our biggest line of work. In Paris we run the French side of the spot: the local bid, the permits, the locations with advertising usage cleared, the crew and their contracts, the vehicles and the set. Élie files and negotiates; Zacharie line produces and runs the unit.
The general picture of the city is on our Paris page. This page is narrower: what the city's own rules say about advertising shoots, and the handful of constraints that decide a Paris commercial budget before anyone has seen a location.
The good news first. The City of Paris film office publishes that advertising requests get specific handling and more flexible rules. Paris wants commercials. It simply wants them filed properly, on its platform, on its clock.
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The Paris rules that shape a commercial
From the city's published guidance, indicativeRuleWhat it saysWhat it means for your spot
Two regimesDeclaration or full authorisationA declaration (5 working days ahead) covers a small crew with light kit on streets and bridges only. Anything else goes through the city's online platform, at least 15 working days aheadMost commercials are on the full regime: a truck, a parking request or one shot in a garden is enough
Exceptional shootsAction, stunts, high impactThe film office asks to be contacted about three months aheadCar chases, big crowds and stunts are bid on a longer clock
Vehicle capsTechnical and cast vehicles, catering excludedFive per site in the most sensitive arrondissements (Paris Centre, 5e, 6e, 7e, 9e, 10e, and the Butte Montmartre), eight elsewhereYour grip truck, lighting truck, camera van and talent cars all count
Champs-ÉlyséesPolice Prefecture positionThe city's guidance states that the Prefecture does not want shoots in the Champs-Élysées perimeter until further noticeDo not board the avenue without a plan B
GeneratorsOn public roadsSmall portable generators under 10 kVA are banned on the public roadPower plan decided at recce, not on the morning
NightAfter 11pmNever covered by the light declarationFull authorisation, plus the Prefecture where public order is involved
ResidentsNotice in advanceResidents and shops are informed by posted notice or flyers, and the production manager's number is displayed on vehiclesWe write and post the notices
CharterSince 1 January 2025A signed charter against sexist and sexual violence must accompany the first requestOne signature per production, filed with the request
All of this is indicative and confirmed per project: the film office updates its guidance, and the Prefecture's positions change with events. The full filing sequence is in our guide to the Paris filing platform.
The truck count is the real location fee
Foreign bids price Paris locations by the day. The city prices them in vehicles. With five technical vehicles allowed per site in the central arrondissements, a standard commercial package (grip, lighting, camera, costume and make-up, talent) is already at the limit before the client car arrives. We solve it at bid stage: a unit base outside the sensitive zone with shuttles, lighter trucks, or a location two streets further out that allows eight. It is the single decision that most often separates a clean Paris commercial from a day of parking fines.
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Monuments, rights and people
The three usage traps01The Eiffel Tower at nightDaytime images of the tower are in the public domain, says its operator. The illuminations and sparkle are protected: professional use of night images needs prior authorisation from the operator, and fees can apply depending on the project and the media plan. Filming on the tower itself is a separate request, usually outside opening hours.Rights
02Buildings and their ownersParis Film does not handle monuments: the operator of each site does. Private owners price advertising use differently from documentary use, and some architecture carries rights of its own. We clear usage in the location contract, not after the edit.Usage
03Children under 16A child on a French set needs a prior individual authorisation from the prefect, after the opinion of a specialised commission. The prefect has a month to decide. For an employer based abroad, the Paris prefect is competent, and the child's pay is paid into an account in the child's name at the Caisse des dépôts.Casting
The trap. A storyboard that ends on the illuminated Eiffel Tower is not a permit question, it is a rights question with its own approval and its own fee. Ask on day one, or shoot the tower by day.
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How we run a Paris commercial
Bid to wrapBidLocal budget in euros with crew at loaded cost (French crew are usually hired as intermittents, with social charges on top), permit and location fees, vehicle plan per site, and a plain list of what will not clear in your window. See what filming in France costs.
RecceÉlie and the location manager walk every site with the director: power, truck count, residents, rights holders.
FilingCity platform, Prefecture, monument operators, RATP or SNCF if needed, and any drone request, all in parallel so the slowest desk sets the date.
PPMFrench side of the PPM book: permits status, vehicle plan, call times, weather cover, casting authorisations.
ShootZacharie line produces on set; agency and client looked after in the video village.
WrapCost report, crew payments, location returns, rushes handed over.
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Paris commercials we ran
Selected2024Visa Latin AmericaParis é InfiniteBrand film directed by Pedro Andrade across Paris locations.Wrapped
2023BoodlesFine jewellery campaignParis locations, permits and logistics around the Tuileries and the Pavillon de Flore.Wrapped
If your brief is a stills campaign rather than a spot, read our page on fashion and photo shoots in Paris. If the car is the hero, read car commercials in France. And for the Paris calendar weeks that override everything, see Paris Fashion Week and Roland-Garros.
Need the whole film made?
For a finished commercial delivered end to end, from brief to master with post included, our sister company Prod is Prod handles executive production in Paris.
06
Selected work
Verified creditsFreia
Chocolate campaign
2026 · France
Production service in France for the Norwegian chocolate brand.
Myprotein
Brand content
2026 · France
Production service for the brand's content shoot in France.
Primark
Primark Contemporary, Fall collection
2026 · France
Production service for the Fall collection campaign.
How far in advance should we file a commercial shoot in Paris?
For the standard authorisation, at least 15 working days before the shoot through the city's online platform. A small crew with light kit on streets and bridges only can use a declaration filed 5 working days ahead, but most commercials need trucks or parking and fall on the standard regime. For stunts, action or high-impact shoots, the film office asks to be contacted about three months ahead. These are indicative and confirmed per project.
How many vehicles can a commercial park on a Paris location?
The city's published guidance caps technical and cast vehicles at five per site in the most sensitive arrondissements (Paris Centre, 5e, 6e, 7e, 9e, 10e and the Butte Montmartre) and eight elsewhere, catering vehicles excluded. Parking is only reserved under the full authorisation, not the light declaration.
Can we shoot a commercial on the Champs-Élysées?
The City of Paris states in its guidance that the Police Prefecture does not want shoots in the Champs-Élysées perimeter until further notice. Treat the avenue as unavailable unless the Prefecture's position changes, and plan an alternative location early. We will tell you what is possible for your dates.
Do we need permission to show the Eiffel Tower in a commercial?
By day, no: its operator says daytime images are in the public domain. At night, the illuminations are protected, and professional use of night images needs prior authorisation from the operator, with fees depending on the project and the media plan. Filming on the tower itself is a separate request.
Can children appear in a commercial shot in Paris?
Yes, with a prior individual authorisation from the prefect for each child under 16, given after a specialised commission's opinion. Allow at least a month. For a production company based abroad, the Paris prefect is competent, and part of the child's pay goes into an account in the child's name at the Caisse des dépôts.
Planning a commercial in Paris?
Send us the board and your shoot dates, with the locations and the number of vehicles. We tell you what the city and the Police Prefecture will say.
Or email [email protected]. We reply within 3 hours.