Why Paris is the only EU capital to ban drones
Drone shots of central Paris could end up being rarefied archival footage.
Police have been systematically rejecting requests to fly over the capital, according to professional drone operators - such as Xavier Dupuy.
"Actually, we're almost being banned from working. It's an abuse of power from someone in a dominant position. Some people are struggling quite a lot financially. This is really affecting us, it's affecting all of us."
Paris is classified as a no-fly zone for drones by law.
But operators have been allowed to fly within the city in recent years, as long as they submit a formal request to police.
That is until January - when operators say authorities suddenly changed their stance.
So why the u-turn?
Operators say it's a tit-for-tat measure after France's Constitutional Council took issue in May with drone usage by the police, deeming it an intrusion on people's privacy.
Emmanuel Vire is the secretary general of the SNJ Journalists Union.
"It's a perverse effect and an absolute scandal for the prefecture, because they themselves cannot use drones to spy on protesters, to be intrusive, as declared by the Constitutional Council, and that's why the Constitutional Council rejected this use of drones as it is. And so to make everyone pay, the prefecture will place a ban concerning all drone operators to use drones in their line of work. It's an absolute scandal."
The Paris prefecture has declined to comment on the ban, which civilian drone pilots say is hurting livelihoods - and Paris' reputation.
Owner of Skydrone production company Marc Didier.
"At the moment, Paris is the only city in the world over which we cannot film. And Paris is quite an important city on a global level, with its monuments, with its history, its culture. And no one can take drone images of Paris at the moment. So everyone resorts with stock images or try to live without, but actually, many are just living without, and it's such a shame for the reputation and for the image of Paris."
