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Drones Under 250g: What You're Actually Allowed to Do in France

"It weighs less than 250 grams, so there are no rules."

The idea gets around a lot, even among owners who've just spent several hundred euros on their aircraft. It's false, and the mistake can be costly: fines start at €450, and the most serious offenses fall under criminal law.

The reality is more nuanced. Dropping below the 250-gram threshold eases the obligations considerably. It doesn't exempt you from them.

Here's what actually applies, checked against official sources, along with the pitfalls specific to the Landes coast.

What the 250-gram threshold really changes

European regulations sort recreational drones into categories. An aircraft under 250 grams falls into class C0, the most permissive one. Compared to a heavier drone:

  • No mandatory theory exam. Drones between 250g and 25kg require the online "Open Category A1/A3" training and a passing score on a 40-question test. For a C0, this isn't required.
  • Overflying people is tolerated. Other categories require safety distances from uninvolved bystanders. A C0 can fly over isolated individuals.
  • No minimum age for C0 aircraft marked as toys, whereas the minimum is otherwise 14.

That's a significant reduction in requirements, and it's why this category has become so popular with travelers and content creators. But it doesn't make registration, flight rules, or no-fly zones disappear.

Registration: mandatory as soon as there's a camera

This is the point almost everyone misses, and the easiest one to get penalized for during a check.

A drone under 250 grams without a camera doesn't need to be registered. But as soon as it carries one — which covers nearly every model sold today — the operator has to register.

Registration is free, done through the DGAC's AlphaTango portal (France's civil aviation authority). It generates an operator number in the format "FRA" followed by 13 characters. That number must be displayed visibly on the aircraft, typically on a label stuck to the body.

This registers the operator — the responsible person — not each individual drone. A single number covers every aircraft belonging to that operator.

The flight rules that still apply regardless

Whatever the aircraft's weight, these rules stay in force.

120 meters maximum altitude, measured from the takeoff point. Near an aerodrome, that ceiling drops sharply, sometimes below 50 meters.

Visual line of sight only. The drone must stay visible to the naked eye at all times. Flying purely by screen, drifting behind a dune or a building, is a violation — even if the video feed works perfectly.

Night flying is banned, with no exception for recreational drones, even ones fitted with position lights. On a due-west-facing coast, this is worth planning around: the most beautiful light is also the closest to the legal limit. Sunset is allowed; aeronautical night is not.

No flying over crowds. This is the limit of the privilege granted to class C0: flying over an isolated person on the beach is tolerated, flying over a gathering — a competition, a concert, a market, a packed beach in mid-August — is not.

Never lose control of the aircraft, and always yield right of way to any manned aircraft. An approaching rescue helicopter always has priority: land immediately.

No-fly zones: the real trap

This is where most unintentional violations happen, because nothing on the ground marks these zones.

Flying over the following is prohibited, among others: nuclear facilities, military land, prisons, aerodrome surroundings, historic monuments, nature reserves, and national parks.

The reference tool is the drone restriction map on Géoportail, which shows the zones and maximum permitted altitudes. It should be checked before every flight in an unfamiliar location. Manufacturer apps flag some of these zones, but they're not authoritative and sometimes lag behind French regulations.

In the Landes, three particularities deserve specific attention.

First, military presence. The Biscarrosse and Cazaux air base area covers extensive military activity zones, with restrictions that aren't intuitive and can extend quite far out over the ocean.

Second, protected natural areas. A large part of the Landes coastline is classified — nature reserves, Natura 2000 sites, protected dunes. Overflight is regulated there, particularly during bird nesting season. A beach looking deserted means nothing.

Finally, Biarritz airport to the south, whose control zone extends further north than one might expect.

Filming people: image rights

Aviation rules authorize the flight. They say nothing about what you do with the images afterward, and that's an entirely separate body of law.

Publishing images that identify a person without their consent isn't allowed. A recognizable face, a license plate, an identifiable private property: publishing them without authorization can make the publisher liable.

This distinction is widely misunderstood: many people assume a legal flight makes publishing legal. These are two independent questions. A perfectly compliant flight can produce images that are illegal to publish.

In practice, for filming a surf session: filming a distant silhouette in the waves isn't an issue. Filming an identifiable group on the beach and posting it on social media without consent is. This is why a professional gets explicit consent from anyone involved before publishing anything.

What you risk

The penalties aren't symbolic.

  • Flying without the required training certificate: €450.
  • Being unable to produce your documents during a check: €38.
  • The most serious offenses — flying over a no-fly zone, endangering others — fall under transport law and criminal law, with penalties that can reach tens of thousands of euros in fines, a prison sentence, and confiscation of the aircraft.

A 249-gram drone falling from 100 meters is still a projectile. Being lightweight eases the paperwork, not the responsibility.

Quick recap

The essentials to remember:

  1. Under 250g with a camera: registration required on AlphaTango.
  2. No theory exam required, but the online training is still strongly recommended.
  3. 120 m maximum, visual line of sight, never at night.
  4. No flying over crowds.
  5. Check the zones on Géoportail before every flight in an unfamiliar place.
  6. The right to fly isn't the right to publish.

Always check the source

This article reflects the state of the regulations as of its publication date, in July 2026. Drone regulations change regularly, both at the French and European level. Before flying in a sensitive context, official sources should always be checked:

This article is for informational purposes and doesn't constitute legal advice.

Surf sessions on the Landes coast can be filmed by drone, within this regulatory framework. Discover my work as a Videographer.