Civilian unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)

Due to the increase in the number of unlawful flights over sensitive French sites by drones since autumn 2014, two members of the French Parliament tabled a draft law in spring 2016 on improving safety measures when using civilian drones. This draft was the result of the Government report to Parliament entitled ‘The rise in civilian aerial drones in France: challenges and possible responses from the State’, published in October 2015.

The law was finally adopted by the French Parliament and enacted on 24 October 2016 (Law No 2016-1428). It imposes new obligations on pilots, owners or manufacturers of civilian unmanned aerial vehicles. These are intended to prevent incidents posing a risk to State security, and make pilots accountable.

The Draft Order notified by France to the Member States and European Commission under Directive (EU) 2015/1535 aims to define the contents of the user manual to be provided with unmanned aerial vehicles and their main spare parts, pursuant to Article L425-1 of the Consumer Code. The manual shall include the same amount of information as the manual placed online by the French Directorate-General for Civil Aviation for recreational drones (see https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/R%C3%A8gles%20d%27usage%20d%27un%20drone%20de%20loisir.pdf); using the manual published by the Directorate-General for Civil Aviation (DGAC) is an acceptable means of compliance with the requirement.