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CCTV, drones and online cookies: How France’s strict privacy rules work

France's strict privacy rules affect many aspects of daily life - from taking photos in a public place to flying a drone, installing CCTV at your home to using online cookies. Here's a look at what the law says.

Published: 24 February 2023 16:21 CET

CCTV, drones and online cookies: How France's strict privacy rules work

Video surveillance cameras in a private parking lot in Gouesnou, western France. (Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP)

In France, privacy is not only a privilege, it is a right – the phrase “Everybody has the right to privacy” is enshrined in Article 9 of the French Civil Code and the courts’ definition of what constitutes a private life has been pretty broad including love life, friendships, family circumstances, religious or political opinions and state of health.

And this affects many aspects of life in France – from press reporting on politicians’ sex lives to whether you can fly a drone in public or install CCTV at your French property.

Drones and CCTV

Video surveillance systems are legal in France, but privacy rules mean that they are tightly regulated.

France’s capital is home to about 4,055 surveillance cameras, totalling not even one percent of the total CCTV cameras in place in London which had over 600,000 CCTV cameras as of 2020 (although it is a larger city).

In December, local authorities announced that Paris would have at least 320 new CCTV cameras put in place by 2026, which still pales in comparison to the less populous American capital, Washington DC, home to at least 17,000 CCTV cameras, according to WAMU.

State-operated CCTV – public authorities can only film the public space for specific reasons, such as “safeguarding installations necessary for national defence, regulating transport flows, recording traffic violations, preventing acts of terrorism”, and more. These cameras are not authorised to film the entrances or interiors of any nearby residential buildings.

Additionally, French public authorities are required to indicate the presence of a video protection system with a sign that includes information on how people can get in contact with the data protection officer in charge of the footage collected from that CCTV camera.

Before putting up any CCTV cameras, public authorities (and shopkeepers, who under certain circumstances can also use surveillance cameras), must get permission from the préfecture.

Private CCTV – If you want to set up a camera on your personal property, then you must also follow privacy rules – for example, you cannot film public spaces or your neighbours’ homes. If you employ anyone on your property, then you are legally obliged to inform them of the presence of a camera and you cannot film them “permanently”.

In certain circumstances, you may also be required to conduct a “data protection impact analysis (DPA)” before setting up surveillance cameras.

Drones – French courts have been battling over which government authorities should be able to use surveillance drones – and for what purposes. In January 2022, France’s Constitutional Council released their final verdict, deciding that national police could use them, but not municipal or local police forces. The verdict also specified that surveillance drones cannot be equipped with facial recognition.

When it comes to recreational drones, France also has very stringent regulations for their use – including a ban on any kind of filming or photography of a person unless they have given permission.

Press and paparazzi

The French droit à l’image – or the right to your own image – states that everybody has a basic right not to have images of themselves published against their will.

So, for ordinary members of the public, general consent is required, unless the publication is in the public interest or if the person is pictured as part of a large crowd, for example at a demonstration. For minors under the age of 18, taking and publishing photos is subject to strict rules and typically parental authorisation. It’s also worth noting that ‘publishing’ includes putting pictures on social media.

The droit à l’image gets a little trickier when it is applied to public figures such as politicians or celebrities – essentially, it is broken down again into this idea of public v private space.

When it comes to photos taken in a private space, the photographer usually requires the consent of their subjects when they can be identified. France’s penal code states that taking or publishing a photo of somebody, taken in a private place without their consent, is punishable by up to a year in prison and a €45,000 fine.

It is worth noting that a car is considered a private space, which is why a French court ordered Closer magazine to pay damages to actress Julie Gayet, after publishing a photo of her allegedly on her way to meet then-president François Hollande, with whom she was having an affair.

Journalists and media organisations do have the option to argue that the publication was in the public interest, but the test for this is strict and – as the Gayet case shows – the simple fact of someone having an affair may not meet it.

In public spaces, no particular authorisation is needed if – crucially – a public figure is aware that their photo is being taken or if the image illustrates a newsworthy event. So you are also allowed to publish photos of public figures on the campaign trail, but paparazzi shots on the beach would be more difficult to justify.

ID cards

Technically, French national identity cards are not obligatory. However, there are many situations in France where you will need to prove your identity – like opening a bank account, identifying yourself to government agencies, or proving your immigration status – and as a result, daily life in France would be difficult without any form of identification.

ID cards in France also have a complex history – they are a relatively modern invention, having come about primarily in the 20th century, though some versions of ‘passports’ have existed since the Middle Ages.

During World War II, the Vichy government required that all French people over 16 have a national identity card, and that all French Jewish people have the word “Jew” stamped on the card, which later aided Vichy authorities in deporting thousands of people to concentration camps.

In 1955, ID cards became non-compulsory, and more recently electronic models have been released.

Data protection

France is often touted for having strong data protection regulations – in fact, the country was among the first to create legislation that protects personal data from being collected online in 1978 – yet despite this, internet scams and repeated cold-calling are commonplace.

CNIL – France’s data protection authority – exists to help protect your personal data that might be leaked for scams and cold-calling protected. CNIL’s original role was first defined as “preserving individual freedoms in response to advances in information technology”, and it regulates everything from the collection of private data online to its storage and use.

France also abides by the GDPR, the EU’s data privacy law which went into effect in 2018. This series of regulations seek to protect users’ personal data – things like your name, location, and IP address to your age, sex, or even political beliefs, basically anything that could allow you to be identified. You can learn more about it here.

Despite these protections, it is common to receive text messages encouraging you to click on fraudulent links, or phone calls from unknown companies seeking to sell you something.

France has taken steps in recent months to combat these issues – in September, France’s telecom authority, Arcep, announced that it would begin requiring phone calls from ‘technical platforms’, such as call centres, to call from numbers starting with 09.

The French government also said in February that it would start launching an ‘anti-scam filter’ to inform the public whether they are visiting a website designated as a “scam site”.

Privacy v security

This right to privacy has been tested in recent years, by the terror attacks in the 2010s and more recently as the country prepares to host the Olympic Games.

The draft law on Games security proposes using “algorithmic” (AI) video surveillance, using CCTV footage and potentially drones, which could detect potentially dangerous situations by identifying suspicious crowd movements, and alert police forces to intervene.

However, the French government has emphasised that its security proposals should not include the use of facial recognition technologies and that automated video surveillance was an experimental measure for a defined period. The proposed security measures also need to be cleared by both parliaments and the constitutional court.

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'A €70k tax bill arrived out of the blue' - How accountant errors impact foreigners in France

When Australian Marie set up as a freelancer in France she did the responsible thing and got an accountant who said they specialised in advising expats.

However repeated errors and neglect on the part of her accountant plus a lack of correct registration with URSSAF led to her receiving a bill out of the blue for an additional €70,000 in social charges – something that she is still making payments to clear more than two years later.

She joins a long list of foreigners who feel let down by accountants who either make mistakes, fail to fully explain the French system or register people in incorrect regimes.

Paris-based Marie told The Local: “The first firm I went to set me up as a SASU business (société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle). I was set up as a business with myself as president and paid myself a salary – which they had recommended – but that put me on a really high rate of tax.

“I moved to a different firm after that and they moved me onto a SARL business status, which was better suited to my business, but they forgot to notify URSSAF of the change so I was being incorrectly billed for months.

“It was only because I had alerted them several times to the final demands I was receiving, over the course of two years, that this was rectified.

“They also made a mistake with my invoices, and put through invoices for work done in India for 40,000 rupees (about €400) as €40,000 which put me into a higher tax bracket. It was only much later that another accountant told me that all invoices – no matter what country they come from – must be in euros.

“For example, one month they just forwarded me a €20,000 bill for URSSAF contributions that I wasn’t expecting and simply asked how I wanted to pay it – like I had that kind of money just lying around.

“I’ve spoken to so many people who work as freelancers or set up small businesses in France and I seem to hear the same stories over and over again of accountants who don’t explain the system, don’t register people correctly and just make endless mistakes. It also seems impossible to make a complaint to an ombudsman when your accountant has comprehensively messed up.

“I’m still paying extra contributions to pay off URSSAF charges which the accountants didn’t inform me about.

“I went to two firms that specifically advertised themselves as having expertise with expats who do work in multiple countries, but neither of them seemed to know what they were doing.”

Marie’s story is thankfully an extreme case, but it’s true that many foreigners in France end up with unexpected bills due to unhelpful, poorly explained or simply incorrect advice from their accountants.

We’ve put together a list of tips to help people when setting up a business and choosing an accountant;

Setting up as a freelancer/ contractor/ small business

Understand different status options – France has several different regimes for people who are running a small business or working as a freelancer and your status can make a big difference.

For many freelancers, the best option will be the micro-entrepreneur status (formerly known as auto-entrepreneur), as this is designed to be as simple as possible for people who are starting out their business. It has an upper earnings limit – €77,000 a year for services or working in a liberal profession such as journalism or €188,000 a year for commercial or property-related activity. However if you pass the threshold after a couple of years in business you can switch to another status without attracting a penalty.

Understand the difference between tax and social charges – For those in work, there are two kinds of income deductions – tax (impôts) and social charges (prélèvements sociaux). Many people just look at tax rates, but actually social charges are likely to make up the bulk of deductions from your earnings. For salaried employees, social charges are deducted at source in the same way as taxes but freelancers and the self-employed pay their charges through URSSAF.

Charges are billed either annually or quarterly but are usually based on the income you declared in previous years – so you can end up with an extra bill if you have had several months where you earned more than previously. This is particularly difficult for freelancers whose income tends to fluctuate and often end up getting extra bills from URSSAF.

Understand how URSSAF works – URSSAF is, notoriously, among the trickiest government agencies in France to deal with and things tend to take a long time. It helps to spend a bit of time swotting up so you understand the outlines of the system and therefore have an idea of what to expect and when a mistake might have been made.

Understand any other charges – if you are setting up as a business you need to fully understand both your personal and business tax liabilities, plus social charges so you can understand and budget for roughly how much you will be paying.

Ask the tax office – they can’t give you financial advice but if you have a question about how the tax system works or you are confused about a bill you have received, employees at the tax office can help you. You can either call the helpline or visit your local tax office in person – no appointment needed – and employees are often surprisingly friendly and helpful. They will even flag up if you are entitled to tax credits that you haven’t claimed.

7 tips for dealing with the French tax office

Finding an accountant

When finding an accountant, personal recommendations are often best – but this can be hard for new arrivals who don’t know many people.

Here are some tips on finding the right person;

Check their speciality – plenty of accountants advertise themselves as ‘expat specialists’ or simply as ‘English speaking’ but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have any expertise with the area that you need. If you’re working in more than one country, you need someone who understands the tax systems in both countries.

Hopefully this goes without saying, but also check that they are qualified and registered in France. Only a registered ‘expert-comptable‘ can help you file tax declarations for businesses – you can check that they are correctly registered HERE

Get multiple opinions – ‘shop around’ is generally good advice and this goes for accountants too. It’s definitely worth asking for several opinions about how to correctly register yourself and your businesses and what the best options are for you. As Marie’s experience shows, ending up with the wrong accountant can cost you money and cause you endless hassle, so it’s definitely worth taking some time to find the right person.

Be clear about your earnings – a lot of accountants, especially those who advertise as ‘expat services’ are used to dealing with high net worth individuals. If this isn’t the case for you, you need to be clear with them about what you expect to earn and ask them to tailor their advice accordingly. If they start recommending complicated arrangements to minimise your tax liability, ask them exactly how much you can expect to save and whether it’s worth the hassle – often it won’t be worth it if you’re a single individual earning a medium income.

Ask them to explain – the French tax and business registration system is complicated and as a foreigner it will be strange to you. It’s not unreasonable for you not to understand it and to need things spelled out to you. If an accountant is unable or unwilling to explain the tax or business registration system to a foreigner in simple terms then count that as a red flag.

Expat forums are unregulated – many foreigners in France turn to expat forums or Facebook pages to ask for help, but there is no system of regulation for these types of forums and just because a particular firm is recommended it doesn’t mean that it’s any good. It may just be run by a friend of the person who set up the site.

If possible, follow personal recommendations from people who you know.

And finally – check immigration rules. Accountants advise about money and tax law, but you do need to double check that anything they advise is compatible with your immigration status. For example, if you’re advised to set yourself up as a business to minimise tax but you’re in France on a visitor visa (which doesn’t allow you to work), this will create a conflict.

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