Rather than further derail the robotic lawnmower thread, I thought I’d start a new one on drones as I’m thinking of buying one. The main purpose is really just to check my roof after storms to make sure the tiles haven’t been disturbed, rather than climb up ladders though, like any gadget, I’m sure the use will expand.
Any recommendations?
Just a thought…
I know people who live under a " sky corridor" where drones are not allowed.
(possibly due to aircraft training/whatever… only guessing)
Might be an idea to check your own area, if you’ve not already done so.
There are plenty of maps showing drone restricted areas. e.g. Trouvez votre prochain spot pour faire voler votre drone - Carte restrictions drone
It has been a while since I did any drone photography so I too would be interested in the latest models. There was a restriction on flying a drone within 50 metres of a mairie. Our local mairie has an aerial photo of the building, proudly framed and displayed on the wall, taken by me clearly within the restricted area.
Are you allowed to fly a drone in a built up area? Neighbour got one and kept playing with it so we complained to the Marie and he was told not to fly it.
Forget drones, y’all want a homemade plasma weapon.
In theory, you are not allowed to fly drones in pretty much any built up area in France, down to very small villages - out in the country it’s usually OK, though landowner’s permission is supposed to be sought.
You can check your specific location here on Geoportail (there is also a phone app for when you are out and about:
The Dordogne seems to be one big no-fly area - I’m not sure if that is because of the tourist sites or because the Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace use it for training…
That said, judging by the number of videos I see on YouTube taken by drones all over France, it is a rule honoured more in the breach than the observance, as the saying goes.
Obviously flying over a nuclear power station or an army base would be unwise, but if you are in a fairly rural area I doubt you’d have a problem, and especially if it’s over your own property as you can give yourself permission to fly! 
The modern DJI drones are pretty quiet so if you fly higher than 15-20m most people won’t hear it, and the tiny ones are really difficult to see!
As to which drone to get, go for something that weighs less than 250g. These days DJI are pretty much the only game in town - there used to be a French brand called Parrot but DJI ate their lunch in the consumer market so they now only do specialist commercial drones. I would not get one of the Amazon off-brands as after-sales support will be minimal.
The under-250g category is the least restrictive in terms of where you can fly and the qualifications you need.
Essentially, if your drone has a camera you need to register the drone and yourself as an operator, take an online test to prove that you understand the basics of flying safely, and (strongly recommended) get some insurance.
Without a camera and under 800g weight you don;t need to register, if flying for recreational purposes, but clearly you will want one with a camera in order to check your roof!
You register on Alpha Tango:
https://alphatango.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/login.jsp
If you do some Googling of “French drone laws” you will find the regs - they are actually EU wide (EASA).
The current sub-250g DJI drone I would recommend is the Mini - you can either get the latest Mini 4 Pro, or one of the older ones which will be available second hand - I have a Mini 3 Pro.
They differ mainly in the specs of the camera and the degree of sophistication of the obstacle avoidance, so an older model may be more than adequate.
(ETA: I have no idea why that link is coming up in German!)
There is also a choice of controllers - a basic one that uses your phone as the display or one with a screen built in. Which to go for will depend on your budget and how often you will use the drone - obviously having a dedicated screen is nicer but puts the cost up a bit.
You will need a couple of extra batteries probably as flight time is normally about 20 mins.
Any other questions, ask!
One more thing to mention - baby drones don’t cope well with anything more than a light breeze, so I always check the weather forecast before flying.
There is a handy phone app called AirData UAV which will give you hour by hour weather info for your location (and other locations can be searched for), including the all-important wind speed as well as an estimate as to whether there are likely to be enough GPS satellites in view for a safe flight.
It does a bunch of other stuff relating to logging flights which I don’t use.
You can also add your certification / registration paperwork to the app so as to have it on hand if a busybody asks to see it, though I haven’t bothered to do this - I always carry printed copies and have a natty ID card that shows my UK CAA operator info.
It would uncomplicate life if everyone was as thoughtful.
BUT, did you know that the development manager for Mammotion was a former development director for DJI
So possibly less thread drift than you imagined.
I can’t claim to be without sin.
Thanks for all the info, it all sounds very complex but, since my plan is primarily just to throw it up after a storm, I might live life on the edge and just get though I’ll probably chat with the neighbours first to make sure they won’t be unhappy.
It’s not really - I only mentioned the rules and legislation as it’s better to be on the straight and narrow and armed with the right information (and paperwork) if you ever have to deal with someone who starts to tell you “you can’t fly that thing here!”.
But if it’s all on your property then as long as you don’t have a neighbour who decides to sunbathe naked while you are checking your roof you should be fine. 
ETA: when I do commercial drone jobs I wear a gilet jaune - everyone knows that someone wearing hi-vis is authorised to be there.