Hi,
Thanks Chris, I will definitely do this the next time I visit, but I think I may have to take the risk on this occasion as I am travelling tomorrow!
I have everything else in order, drone registered and attached to drone (although as sub 250 not sure that was needed), EASA operator ID and attaced to drone, online training proof certificate.
It’ll just be the aerial photography permission I’m missing. Fingers crossed!
Cheers
Thanks Edison for the link
Just to update here, I sent my form over to the authorities and got next day 3yr authorization so I would say fill out the form as per the advice and you should get a favorable response if your circumstances are similar to mine, i.e sub 250g in subcategory A1.
Good luck and good flying!
Drone Traveller website is saying that since 1 January 2023 you no longer need the CERFA-12546 form for a drone with a camera.
Drone rules and laws in France - current information and experiences (drone-traveller.com)
That’s a very interesting map as where I once lived in Alsace is an FRZ. Totally miffed with how they came to that conclusion as there are no airports/airfields/prison etc at all in that location for at least 30 odd miles.
Off to North and West France in a couple of months, I already have my EASA but looking at the restricted airspace maps for drones it looks more restricted than the UK. Indeed apart from remote rural areas everything seems restricted.
Anyone any experience of flying in France or is it so restricted I should just take my SLR’s
David
Moved your post to the “Flying in France” thread. 
Yes, Inhave the French Géoportail app, and unfortunately where I am in France at the moment it’s all a red NFZ. So, wanting to stay out of trouble I went to the local Marie office, who told be I need to go to the Gendarmerie, which I duly did, with my EASA Operator ID, My registration on the French AlphaTango site, and insurance. They were very helpful, but didn’t actually seem to know anything about local drone restrictions, so made a couple of phone calls for me, and confirmed, if it’s ‘red’ on the Géoportail site, it’s no flying, although he gave a little ‘wink’ as he said that!
We’re actually travelling through France and Spain, so not possible to get permissions for videography at specific locations, so will have to risk that one, but just fly out of the red zones. 
I think it’s probably a case of being sensible and not taking the pi** anywhere!
Looking to fly next year in France, anyone have any experience of the reactions of local, gendarmes etc? 
Moved your post to the pre-existing “France” thread in Where to fly your drone in the UK
Hi
Firstly sorry if this has been asked before but I have read most of the topics and I don’t seem to have found a definitive answer.
I am going to France next month and would like to take my Mini 4 Pro with me. I have so far registered as an operator and have my FRAxxx number.
My question is do I need to do anything else?
Looking on the EASA website, I am confused because my drone seems to fit two different categories:
It was purchased last year but it also has a C0 mark, so it fits the “drones placed on the market before 01/01/2024 (under 250g)” section so may fly over uninvolved people BUT it also comes under the “C0 (under 250g)” section which I read does NOT allow flight over uninvolved people. Am I mis-reading something?
Do I need to register the drone and take the online exam (possibly using Luxembourg)?
So confused!
Steve
This maybe worth a read which is the latest drone rules for France that I could find which was updated in march this year.
Moved your post to the existing thread regarding flying in France - this keeps all information on the topic in one place rather than scattered amongst many.
Just back from a couple of days in Lyon and I chucked the Mini 4K in the bag just in case I got a free moment. Turned out to be not as straightforward as I’d hoped.
Whilst (allegedly) following the same rules as other EU nations, France puts its own layer of je ne sais quoi on top of everything.
Basically, drone flying is banned:
I have also read that not only TOAL but flying over private land is also banned (without owner’s permission)
Which severely limits the options tbh!
Here’s the link to the French geoportail so you can browse for yourself… compared to this, the UK is an open playground!
So - if you’re off to France and want to stay within the rules, you’re going to be pressed to find somewhere (that’s actually interesting to fly!)
It’s not easy for sure, but I did manage a few flights recently. Chateau Villandry (early evening), Bourdeilles in the Dordogne, mid-morning’ish, largely keeping the drone over the river thus avoiding the chance of unintentional overflight, and then a reasonable overflight on the coast by Gold Beach at around 9:00am. Cliff top launch, then straight out over the water to capture the old Mulberry B remnants. The below snap shows the chateau and its grounds, I managed to stay out of the red quite successfully as I was not logged into DJI Fly and my range was limited to 50mtrs @ 30mtrs altitude 
I also saw in the geoporteil various pretty stringent height restrictions too.
So… basically the legal place is out over open water?! 
That makes me so comfortable. 
To be fair to us, I read links to ‘drone laws in France’ and only with some detailed searching did I come across the geoportail.
Tbh it’s somewhat disingenuous that many, many sites give the list of the rules, which match the standard EU rules, without mentioning or linking to the official portal that paints a very different picture.
