Competent Authority
In France, drone operations are regulated by the DGAC (Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile), operating under the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The DGAC issues operational regulations, manages airspace authorisations, and enforces compliance for both recreational and professional drone pilots. France fully implements the EASA common framework established by EU Regulation (EU) 2019/947.
Registration and Marking
The operator — the person or company on whose behalf the flight is made — must register on the Alphatango portal (alphatango.aviation-civile.gouv.fr) as soon as the drone exceeds 250 g, or carries a sensor able to collect personal data (a camera is enough), whatever its weight. Registration issues an operator number in the form FRA followed by 13 characters, to be affixed legibly to every aircraft operated. It is valid for five years and can be extended. It comes with a secret trigram: operator number and trigram together form the code entered into the aircraft to activate remote identification where the regulation requires it.
This is not the same as registering the aircraft, a separate national obligation: it applies to the owner, starts at 800 g — or as soon as the aircraft carries an electronic signalling device — and issues a number in the form UAS-FR-….
Remote Pilot Certifications
France follows the EASA competency framework:
- Open A1/A3: Completion of the free online theoretical training on the Alphatango portal, concluding with a 40-question exam (75% pass mark required).
- Open A2: Passing the online exam plus a self-declaration of practical training, enabling flight closer to uninvolved persons.
- Specific category: Pilots must first obtain the CATS (Certificat d'Aptitude Théorique de pilote à distance pour les Scénarios standards) — France's theoretical aptitude certificate for remote pilots in the Specific category, administered by the DGAC at approved examination centres (60 questions, 75% pass mark, valid 5 years). The CATS replaced the former CATT on 1 January 2026 and is recognised across all EU member states. For STS operations:
- STS-01: VLOS over a controlled ground area in a populated environment (Class C5 drone required).
- STS-02: BVLOS in a sparsely populated environment (Class C6 drone required).
- Both STS additionally require a practical proficiency assessment at a declared (DTO) or approved (ATO) training organisation, a prior operational declaration, and a DGAC-approved MANEX.
Categories of Operations
| Category | Conditions | Key limits |
|---|---|---|
| Open | Low risk, no authorisation required | Max 120 m AGL, VLOS, max 25 kg |
| Specific | Medium risk, prior authorisation or STS | MANEX required, geo-awareness mandatory |
| Certified | High-risk operations | Full airworthiness certification |
For Specific operations, operators must produce a MANEX (Manuel d'Exploitation) — an operations manual detailing procedures, risk mitigations, and emergency protocols — submitted to the DGAC for approval.
Restricted Zones and Official Resources
France maintains an extensive network of restricted zones accessible via the Géoportail Drone application (mobile and web), the official flight planning tool provided by the IGN and DGAC. Key restrictions include:
- Paris CTR: Strict no-fly zones cover the entire Paris metropolitan area. Flights within this zone require explicit DSAC (Direction de la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile) authorisation, which is rarely granted to recreational pilots.
- Protected natural areas, nuclear power plants, prisons, and military installations all carry permanent prohibitions.
- Temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are published via NOTAM and integrated into Géoportail Drone in real time.
Pilots must consult the Géoportail Drone app before every flight to verify current airspace status.
National Specifics
France stands out within the EASA framework for several reasons:
- The Alphatango portal is one of the most integrated registration systems in Europe, combining operator registration, pilot training, and airspace authorisation requests in a single platform.
- The MANEX requirement for Specific category operations exceeds the base EASA standard and demands detailed operational documentation.
- STS-01 and STS-02 are defined at European level, in Appendix 1 to the Annex of Regulation (EU) 2019/947. The declaration is filed with the national authority, but the framework itself is the same in every Member State — which is what lets commercial operators work in complex environments without a case-by-case authorisation.
- Flying over or near critical infrastructure (highways, railways, power lines) requires additional prefectoral authorisation.
- Night operations in the Open category remain prohibited; a Specific category authorisation is required.
AlphaTango in detail
The AlphaTango portal is central to French drone regulation: operator registration, aircraft registration, online training and flight declarations. Waypoint360 connects to AlphaTango to save you from double data entry and make your formalities more reliable.
👉 AlphaTango: the DGAC drone portal — and how Waypoint360 connects to it