Having plots sprayed by drone in France? Eligible plots and products, programme authorised by the regional prefect, 10 and 20 m buffers, wind, records, cost per hectare and 6 templates.
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C-DRONE GUIDE · 26 JULY 2026
Agricultural drone spraying in France: what the law allows in 2026, who can do it, price
Drone spraying of plant protection products is allowed in France, since the implementing texts were published in 2026, in three cases only: plots with a slope of 20% or more, banana plantations and rootstock mother vines grown on the ground, with biocontrol, organic-approved or low-risk products, and under an authorisation from the regional prefect. Everywhere else aerial spraying remains banned, except in emergencies or supervised trials. Alongside that, a whole range of uses falls outside the plant-protection ban (in the specific category, since something is dropped): trichogramma release, cover-crop seeding, localised slug-pellet or fertiliser spreading. Here is the up-to-date legal framework, who can do what, and observed prices.
Published on 26 July 2026, updated on 21 October 2026 — regulations in force as of September 2026.
Editorial lead: Jean-Claude Fatemian
Crop protection spraying: the ban and its openings
The starting point is Directive 2009/128/EC (Article 9), carried into Article L. 253-8 of the French rural code: aerial spraying of plant protection products is banned, drones included. A first opening came with the 2018 EGalim law (Article 82), which allowed a three-year trial (2019-2021) on plots with slopes of 30% or more, with organic-approved products or on HVE-certified farms. ANSES assessed it and saw benefits for operator safety on steep slopes, while asking for more data.
On that basis, Law No. 2025-365 of 23 April 2025 opened drone application in three situations: farm plots with a slope of 20% or more, banana plantations, and rootstock mother vines grown on the ground. Only biocontrol, organic-approved or low-risk products are covered, and only those approved for this purpose: the order of 19 May 2026 lists them, about 150 products. The implementing texts are Decree No. 2026-270 of 14 April 2026 and the order of 29 May 2026, which sets the authorisation procedure and technical requirements. For other crops and plots, Decree No. 2026-422 of 29 May 2026 governs trial programmes lasting three years at most. Finally there is the temporary emergency authorisation, by joint order of the environment, agriculture and health ministers, for a serious plant-health danger (for instance a flood that makes plots inaccessible). Outside these three frameworks, drone spraying of plant protection products remains banned (source: French Ministry of Agriculture, page updated 12 June 2026).
Who can spray by drone, and on what conditions
A drone treatment programme is requested from the regional prefect, through a form on demarche.numerique.gouv.fr, stating the people involved, the characteristics of the plots and drones, and the intended products. The authorisation lasts five years at most; it is published on the prefecture's website and posted at the town hall for the whole programme. Trial programmes are led by an agricultural technical institute, authorised by the regional prefect after the ministry's opinion, for three years at most.
In the field, application follows all the rules for ground treatments plus drone-specific ones: mandatory periodic sprayer inspection, an individual certificate for operators, speed capped at 18 km/h during application, flight at 3 m at most above the treated vegetation, a safety distance set by the authorisation and never below 20 m from inhabited and frequented areas, drift-reducing equipment from the list published in the ministry's Official Bulletin, and informing local residents. On the aviation side, the operator must hold the operational authorisation issued by the DSAC (next section). In practice a farmer can lead a programme personally if all these conditions are met, or call on a provider who already meets them (source: French Ministry of Agriculture).
What falls outside the ban: trichogramma, seeding, non-pesticide spreading
The ban targets the spraying of plant protection products — not everything a drone can drop. Three uses fall outside that ban and are already common — but any dropping takes the flight out of the open category (Regulation (EU) 2019/947, Article 4): they fall under the specific category, with the corresponding operational authorisation. Trichogramma release against corn borer: the drone sows capsules of these beneficial micro-wasps over hundreds of hectares, faster and more evenly than on foot — today the most widespread aerial biocontrol use in France. Cover-crop seeding into standing crops (catch crops sown before harvest) or onto ground too soft to carry machinery. Localised spreading of granules — slug pellets, precision fertiliser on targeted zones — where machine passage is impossible or destructive.
On performance, research has accompanied practice for a decade: a study by Giles and Billing published in 2015 (Chemical Engineering Transactions) documented the deployment of a spraying drone on a vineyard and measured flow rates, coverage and work rates, laying the ground for today's protocols. That work also informs the uses outside the pesticide regime: distribution evenness, pass overlap, optimal flight height.
Aviation side: heavy drones, hence a demanding regime
A spreading drone is no camera quadcopter: with its tank or hopper it commonly weighs 25 to 75 kg. At that weight, forget the open category: operations fall under the specific category, with an operating authorisation issued by the French DSAC on the basis of a risk analysis, standard scenarios or a SORA case — the framework explained in our open vs specific category and BVLOS, STS and SORA guides. Add operator registration, specific pilot training and insurance sized for such a machine.
For the farmer, the practical consequence is simple: these jobs go through specialised providers already holding the authorisations, or through a serious equipment investment (machine, authorisations, training — several tens of thousands of euros) our in-house or outsource guide helps weigh. Diagnostic uses — vigour mapping, water stress, damage assessment — remain accessible with light drones in the open category, and combine well: the vigour map from a light flight becomes the variable-rate map for the spreading job.
Observed prices in 2026
Ranges observed in 2026 (excl. VAT), full service in France:
- Trichogramma release: €15 to €25/ha, capsules included depending on the offer, tapering beyond 100 ha.
- Cover-crop seeding by drone: €30 to €60/ha excluding seed, depending on rate and plot layout.
- Steep-slope application (vineyards): €150 to €300/ha depending on slope and logistics — to compare with the cost and risk of backpack spraying, the only real alternative on such plots.
Rates vary markedly with job size, access and region: the dominant cost is mobilisation (machine, pilot, authorisations), not the marginal hectare. Our agricultural drone page presents the full range of services; for a spreading or biocontrol job, request a quote stating crop, area, slope and target window.
Put it into practice
- Drone precision agriculture: rates and cities covered from €8/ha
- Precision agriculture in Narbonne Occitanie
- Precision agriculture in Arles Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Precision agriculture in Belfort Bourgogne-Franche-Comté