Hello, anyone here who can explain the new French drone lawsto a Brit struggling to learn the language? As of today, January 6 2016, awhole range of new rules came into effect. Trying to read the officialdocuments via Google translate is painful in the extreme. I am trying to findout if France has accepted the recommendations of the European Aviation SafetyAgency (EASA) regarding an ‘Open’ category allowing for simplified commercialoperation, specifically being able to earn money from a drone for small-scaleoperations rather than having to be fully certificated. Failing that, any goodFrench drone links would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Perhaps you can start with this link New rulings in France for January 1, 2016. The new rules replace the earlier texts, with some improvements for amateur use (new text clearly states not for commercial use). Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't believe that things have become simplified for professionals (although there are some improvements). We are waiting for new user guides from the DGAC (hopefully in the next few days), at which point I will add a post.
Good flying!

johnsr Posted at 2016-1-6 16:46
Perhaps you can start with this link New rulings in France for January 1, 2016. The new rules replac ...

Thank you Johnsr. Having struggled through the official texts, I find little clear regarding low-level commercial flights. At the very least, what qualifications must a person have to, say, do an aerial survey for a builder? Shame they did;t adopt the ESAS recommendations. Has anyone? Also, would it be possible for someone with drone certification in the UK to work with drones elsewhere in Europe? Would the filming of a cycle race from one country to another require different pilots for different countries. I am assuming Johnsr, that you are a font of all knowledge!
Best wishes.

SkySnake Posted at 2016-1-6 17:34
Thank you Johnsr. Having struggled through the official texts, I find little clear regarding low-l ...

"Font of all knowledge"... golly that would be great, unfortunately not. I am certainly not a legal expert, but I would expect, in the case of a particular project, say a race or wildlife documentary, that permission could be obtained for professionals on assignment. Freelancing here would be another more difficult issue as you would be competing with locals who have had to go through all this administrative stuff. I am not sure if the new rules change the "resident" requirement for professional pilots. As I said, there should be a clearer presentation of the rulings shortly.

If you are in a hurry, you can find version 0 of the Professional guide (in French) on the Ministry's site Quelle place pour les drones dans le ciel français. The summary topics include "What is new with the 2015 rulings" and "Procedures & forms" . The latter section has links to sections of the draft document (couldn't find the direct link for it).
Best of luck...

johnsr Posted at 2016-1-6 18:55
If you are in a hurry, you can find version 0 of the Professional guide (in French) on the Ministry' ...

I'll probably need the best of luck. Thanks again for all your help. Will you be posting more in time?

Yes, as soon as I can.

It's being discussed here - if you use chrome it will translate the page for you.
http://www.djiphantom-forum.com/ ... le-guide-explicatif

Here are links to PDF versions of the two new French guides, version 0, published by the DSAC (Direction de la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile) on Dec. 22, 2015:

- Guide for amateurs: Guide « Aéromodélisme : modèles réduites et drones de loisir »

- Guide for professionals: Guide « Aéronefs circulant sans personne à bord : Activités particulières »

If another version becomes available, I'll post the link.
Good flying!