The disputed use of drones by the police before the Council of State

The Association for the Defense of Constitutional Liberties (Adelico) seized the highest administrative court in summary proceedings asking it to suspend a decree of April 19 allowing the processing of data from images from cameras installed on aircraft. 

This text authorizes the police, gendarmes, customs officers and soldiers in certain cases to use drones for  » the prevention of attacks on the safety of persons and property in particularly exposed places » or for « the safety of gatherings » on the public highway. .

The police can also use these small remote-controlled aircraft for  » the prevention of acts of terrorism », « the regulation of transport flows », « surveillance of borders, with a view to combating their irregular crossing  » and  » helping people ». 
 

The decree was published more than a year after the vote on the law on criminal responsibility and internal security, which had reintroduced several controversial measures of the Global Security law, rejected by the Constitutional Council in 2021.

It is in particular under this decree that the prefectures have issued orders for the surveillance of the parades of May 1st by drones, in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Le Havre in particular, disputed before the administrative courts by Adelico and other organizations.

For the applicant association, this decree « by its very existence carries considerable infringements of the right to respect for private life, the right to the protection of personal data, the freedom to come and go and the freedom to demonstrate “ , according to the request consulted by AFP. « It is therefore fundamental that the use of drones be framed by the texts in the most meticulous way possible », considers the applicant association, which considers that the decree it is attacking is « incompatible » with a European directive on the Protection of personal data.