News / France

Five drones spotted over central Paris: Security sources

Tuesday, 24 February 2015 8:46 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 24 February 2015 9:57 AM ]

A pictyre taken on September 9, 2014 shows a drone flying over gardens of the Pape Clement castle, in the soutwestern French town of Pessac. (© AFP)

French security sources say French police have spotted at least five drones buzzing over several places in the capital, Paris.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a security source said police failed to catch the operators of the drones flying over central Paris landmarks in the early hours of Tuesday.

The US embassy, the Eiffel Tower, the Place de la Concorde and the Invalides military museum were among the places that witnessed the drones flying over them, the source said.

“It could be a coordinated action but we don’t know for now,” the source added.

Another source close to the investigation also said, “We did everything to try and catch the operators but they were not found.”

Mysterious overflights

Several mysterious pilotless aircraft have been spotted flying over French cities in the last few months.

However, until Tuesday, “there have never been so many drones appearing in one night,” one of the security sources said.

On January 20, a drone was seen flying briefly over the French Presidential Palace in the central part of Paris.

A probe has been launched into the incident by the Paris prosecutor’s office.

In October and November 2014, a mysterious spate of drone flights was reported over French nuclear plants. However, no one claimed responsibility for the overflights.

On November 5, 2014, the French police reportedly arrested two women and a man near the Belleville-sur-Loire nuclear plant in the Cher region south of the capital in connection with the drone overflights.

Sources said two drones were also confiscated by the police.

French law bans aircraft of all types from flying within five kilometers of nuclear facilities. However, there had been at least 15 reports of drone sighting over nuclear reactors across France last October, raising concerns over the country’s nuclear safety.

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