The Council of State on Tuesday banned the use of drones to monitor demonstrations on public roads in Paris.
The Paris police chief, Didier Lallement, "must stop, without delay, carrying out drone surveillance measures for gatherings of people on public roads," said the highest administrative court.
The Council of State had been seized by the association La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) which was concerned about the use of drones "for administrative police purposes".
Already in May, the administrative court had banned the use of drones to monitor the capital during the deconfinement.
"Serious doubt about legality"
For the Council of State, police surveillance by drone could not be envisaged "without the prior intervention of a text" which authorizes it and sets the terms of use.
Otherwise, underlines the administrative justice, "there is a serious doubt about the legality" of carrying out surveillance using drones.
The law on "global security" which has just been adopted on first reading by the National Assembly provides in particular to regulate the use of drones by the police.
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Article 22 of this bill extends the ability of the police to use images filmed in public space and provides in particular that in the context of demonstrations, videos shot by drone or helicopter may be broadcast live in the command room of the law enforcement system and then kept, for a period of thirty days or more if used in the context of an investigation.