Retiree in France shoots down mairie drone, mistaking it for burglars
Locals were not warned that the drone was being used to check roof of village hall
The drone had only been in use for around three weeks. Photo for illustrative purposes only
Oleg Kopyov/Shutterstock
A retiree shot down a drone belonging to his village mairie in south-west France as he thought it was being used by burglars to plan a heist of his home.
The drone was carrying out inspections and checking roof conditions of public buildings in the village of Nohic (Tarn-et-Garonne), on Tuesday (April 7).
At around 14:30, it crossed over the village hall and near the home of the 76-year old man, who took his rifle and shot it down.
The retiree believed the drone was being used by burglars to assess his property for a future break-in attempt.
The mairie did not warn residents that the drone was set to be used by authorities.
The drone cost approximately €1,400 and was destroyed in the shooting.
‘A pleasant man but he panicked’
“Everything was going normally until it flew over the village hall and near his home,” Nohic maire Julien Castagne told French media outlet La Dépêche.
“He panicked,” he added. “He’s a respectable citizen who did something regrettable, maybe we should have warned him [about the drone’s passage].”
The man was briefly taken into custody over the incident before being released. Gendarmes have opened an investigation.
No injuries or damage (except to the drone) were caused and locals admitted their surprise over the incident.
“With everything happening at the moment, he must have been scared,” said one Nohic resident to La Dépêche.
Drone usage on the rise
The use of drones by local officials is not uncommon in France, either for assessing current properties or planning future expansions.
In Nohic, the drone was introduced following the municipal election victory of Mr Castagne, and had only been in operation for three weeks.
“We were not looking for undeclared swimming pools or anything like that,” said the mayor. “We simply wanted to assess the roofs of the town hall, club-house, and local school before carrying out repairs on the buildings… but we didn’t get past the first building.”
Drones are also used by companies to carry out surveillance.
In 2024, a man in Vaucluse department shot down a drone he thought was spying on his property, but was in fact operated by electricity grid manager Enedis and assessing local installations.
Rules for private individuals using drones are significantly different however, especially when flying over buildings and in built-up areas. Read our article on the topic here.
