Drones must broadcast owner info over RFID or GSM, French committee rules

Transponders, mandatory training, and registration demanded under planned law.

Jennifer Baker

Kevin Baird

Members of the French senate have approved new stricter rules for the use of drones in the country's skies.

A special commission for sustainable development approved the bill on Tuesday, which will require compulsory registration of drones, mandatory installation of RFID or GSM transponders to broadcast owner details, and the possibility of automatic performance-limiting devices.

The law is based loosely on various US models introduced in recent years.

The text approved by the committee on Tuesday leaves it open to the French government to define parameters, but suggests that the rules should apply to any drone heavier than 800 grams. According to a report from France's security agency (secrétariat général de la défense et de la sécurité nationale), drones heavier than 1kg could carry a "petite grenade."

Under the proposed law, commercial or heavy drone operators must have training, and manufacturers or importers would have to include a leaflet on the use of drones, as well as the relevant legislation and regulations.

GSM or RFID tags would be required to transmit the owner’s name, phone number, registration number, and GPS location.

Following a number of highly publicised drone flights over nuclear power plants, and the Elysee Palace, the bill was submitted by Xavier Pintat and Jacques Gautier in March.

According to the committee, "recent years have been marked by the multiplication of incidents involving civilian drones: collisions, near misses with planes, flying over sensitive sites." The new law aims to deal with these problems "without slowing the development of a dynamic economic sector."

If the stringent new drone rules are approved by the national assembly, which will review them next Tuesday, legislation is expected to come into force in July 2018.

Last year, the UK dished out its first conviction for illegal drone activity to a Nottingham man who flew his drones over football stadiums in breach of British laws against flying drones over buildings or congested areas. He received a £1,800 fine and was banned from operating or helping someone else operate drones for two years. Sanctions under the proposed French law are yet to be defined, however.