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VIDEO: Paris by drone - banned but beautiful

The Local France
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VIDEO: Paris by drone - banned but beautiful
A drone soars above the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and captures some spectacular images. Photo: Screengrab YouTube/Stalin Velasquez

While police in Paris are trying to solve the mystery of who is flying drones over specific landmarks in the capital, a quick search on the internet reveals it's not the first time the unmanned aircraft have taken to the skies over the City of Light.

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Authorities in Paris have been left baffled after numerous drones have been spotted buzzing over the city for two consecutive nights.

Flying drones over Paris or any urban areas in France, even for harmless reasons, is illegal and those caught could face up to one year in prison and a €45,000 fine.

Several people, including tourists have ended up in hot water after sending their unmanned aircraft into the skies above the city.

In February last year a member of the French Foreign Legion was arrested after being caught piloting a small drone around the Eiffel Tower.

The Ecuadorian had reportedly been flying the drone measuring half a metre by half a metre around the first floor of the tower when he was arrested on suspicion of "endangering the lives of others".

And in October last year an Israeli tourist, who was arrested in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral while flying a drone above one of Paris's main attractions, was slapped with a €400 ($500) fine, after spending the night in jail.

The 24-year-old tourist had launched the drone, equipped with a Go-Pro camera, above the famous Gothic church and sent it hovering over the historic Hotel Dieu hospital and a police station, a police source told AFP.

The law states that drone operators in France have to complete a training course and any drone flight over an urban area during the day time requires specific written approval from French aviation authorities. However at night it is completely banned.

However some aviation enthusiasts appear to have got away with it and the results are spectacular to say the least.

This video posted on YouTube a year ago offers incredible views of some of Paris's most famous landmarks. It is not clear whether those behind it had the required permission to shoot the film.

Here's another video of the Eiffel Tower, apparently taken by a drone.

This video below shows Notre Dame Cathedral and the River Seine captured by a camera attached to a drone.

This video below is shot using a drone, which soars high above Paris's financial district of La Défense. 

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