By Inti Landauro
PARIS--Three Al Jazeera journalists who were detained by French
police for flying a drone in a city park were freed Thursday
morning, said a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor's office.
One of the trio--a U.S. citizen who was piloting the drone--will
appear in court where he is likely to be fined a few hundred euros
and have his drone confiscated, she said.
Flying drones over urban areas is banned in France and violation
can theoretically lead to convictions of up to one year in jail and
fines of up to EUR45,000 ($51,300), but French courts have so far
imposed small fines and no jail terms, the spokeswoman said.
Paris has been puzzled by mystery drones that have periodically
been spotted over the French capital's skyline. On two nights
earlier in the week, the remote-controlled aircraft were seen over
some city landmarks and high-security buildings, including the U.S.
embassy. Last month, a drone was spotted flying briefly over the
Élysée Palace, President François Hollande 's official
residence.
In October last year, highly-secured nuclear power stations
operated by power utility Electricité de France SA were also buzzed
by mysterious drones. Remote-controlled drones--small, unmanned
aerial vehicles--are available commercially and are popular in
France.
Al Jazeera, a Qatar-based TV channel, said the journalists were
actually filming a report on the mystery drones inside the Bois de
Boulogne on the western edge of Paris when they were detained.
Two of the three men were cleared of any charges but the one
handling the drone's remote control has agreed to appear in court
where he will plead guilty, the spokeswoman said.
French police say they have no evidence to explain the purpose
of the recent drone flights over the Paris skyline and don't know
how many drones were involved or whether there was any coordination
between the flights. The police said there is no evidence linking
the Al Jazeera journalists to the night drone flights over the
city.
While the investigation in Paris isn't related to antiterrorism,
the flights come as the capital remains on high alert after terror
attacks in January. Soldiers and armed police have maintained a
heavy presence in front of state buildings and embassies around the
capital.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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