"The Champs Elysees That Almost Got Away"
There I was—an impromptu trip to Paris for a weekend from Florida to rendezvous with a lady whose desires ended up being as wishy-washy as your average rinse cycle. Meaning, I ended up going to Paris alone. But hey, what else was I doing that weekend that rivaled exploring the most romantic city in the world with my camera and no agenda? An inexpensive Airbnb on the rooftop of an old apartment building, lovely spring weather…what more could one ask for while weekend-ing in Paris? Well, there might be a few unexpected twists that can turn a good trip into an epic one. Here’s one you probably haven’t heard before…mind you, even a good imagination can’t make this one up.
It was a Saturday morning. Jet-lagged and slightly hungover, I found myself peddling down the Champs Elysee on a lime bicycle, intending to capture some epic aerial footage of the Arc de Triomphe. For those unfamiliar with Pareee, this iconic entrance to the city was commissioned by Napoleon and built between 1806-1836, a commemorative structure honoring the French army's victory after the Battle of Austerlitz. I’m no historian, so I’d recommend taking a guided tour or searching for finer details on the web.
Voila! A brand new DJI Air2s drone soared into the air as I navigated from a nearby bench. You may not be able to see from the photo above, but my grin stretched from ear to ear as the little aviator circled the Arc from all angles—ascending, descending, rocketing, spiraling, you name it. Vertical panoramas, stills, hyper-lapses, the works! I even descended from 120 meters, flying perfectly through the Arc. The singular thought in my mind was, “Wow, this could be the best drone footage I’ve ever recorded to date.” With 8% battery life remaining, I brought the drone bench-side to swap out for a freshie. Just before launching into a second flight, I was greeted by four sizable police officers…this can’t be good, I murmured under my breath.
If you look carefully, you'll spot the police officers standing next to their vehicle at 7 o'clock looking for the drone operator. Meanwhile, I was sitting on a bench at 3 o'clock in between the trees.
“Are you aware that Paris is a no-fly zone for drones?” one officer asked.
“No, sir. It says on my DJI app that it’s a fly-with-caution zone,” I replied.
“Yeah…no!! You will need to gather your things and come with us.”
“I’m terribly sorry, officer. I’m more than happy to delete the footage and be on my way…no more drone for me. I got the message loud and clear. Thank you for informing me.”
“Sorry, that won’t be an option,” he said. “You’ll need to see the detective, and ultimately, a prosecutor will determine the offenses.”
“Crikey, it’s serious, huh?”
Bench side perspective calm before the storm
I loaded into the back of a small police car sandwiched between 2 officers and the driver said, hold on. Suddenly, the lights and siren flip on as we shot up to 60 mph in a matter of seconds (80km/h). "Ah Merde," this guy’s driving like we just robbed a bank…swinging side to side…driving into oncoming traffic and jumping the curb just before the cars collide. I didn’t know whether to laugh, hold my breathe or ask the driver, “that all you got pal”? I quickly realized it may behoove me to review the footage as that might be the last opportunity to see it. The officer to my left sees me reviewing some of the videos and says, “allez, that shit is good man, can I get your instagram”? Of course you can, and what a time to receive such a compliment, it's just a shame I won’t be able to keep the footage. In a softer voice he says, don’t tell anyone I said this but, quickly put it on your iCloud and save it before the detective gets ahold. You’re a real menshe I replied, genius thinking! With cortisol pumping through system, my phalanges went into overdrive. Just as we arrived to the precinct, I pulled the micro sd card from the drone and put it into a hidden zipper within my jacket. Deep breathe, here we go!!
As we enter the precinct and wait for the detective, all the arresting officers are asking about my time in Paris, what I think of the city, etc. Damn these guys are incredibly nice, not to mention fun and also each individually started following my Instagram account. The detective then escorts me to his office and I say farewell to the officers thanking them for the kindness and memorable experience. Like I said, you can’t make this shtuff up.
Now in a room full of detectives, I sit down and begin the questioning process. Right away I turned over the drone and he said, do you have an sd card? After a millisecond of instinctive thought, I said, yup, sure do…let me grab it out of my jacket zipper. Before we began to review all the footage together, can I get you a coffee he says. Would love one detective, I mean who gets this type of treatment? He then proceeded to explain that I broke 4 laws in a mere 35 minutes of flying. When I told him about how the DJI app showed me it was permitted to fly, he said…don’t get me started with DJI, we are fighting with them constantly about this. Clearly I’m not the first one to end up in this chair with the same spiel about DJI misleading its users. In fact, he told me about dozens of others who had their drones confiscated (way more expensive than mine) for doing quite a bit less than me. Oof, that’s encouraging I replied.
The footage is really good he says, but unfortunately I’ve got to confiscate it. I completely understand…by all means please take the footage and also the Eiffel tower content I shot last night. Then his eyes pan from the screen with a look of dismay….please don’t tell me you flew next to the Eiffel Tower. He explains how this is the worst possible location to get caught flying a drone. Oops, guess I should just shut my hole from now on. Well Mr. Seth, I wish it was possible to help you keep the drone but unfortunately it’s out of my hands. How about this though, we can’t take your finger prints or mug shots one hour from now, in the meantime you can grab a lunch, but please be back by 2pm, do you have any last notes for the prosecutor before I submit the case? You bet I do sir…please share with him/her what an absolute fantastic experience I’ve had with the police force of Paris. Not only have they been kind, but also educated me on the laws while displaying a great deal of respect to a foreigner. I have the upmost appreciation and admiration for Parisian police and you better believe I’m going to share this experience whether you confiscate the drone or not.
Eiffel Tower post sunset
I’ve now got 45 minutes to grab a snack and be back 15 minutes early. Mind you, this is a very clever man who knows a lot of that footage is also on my phone….and he’s going to let me leave with it for an hour?!? Lime scooter locked in…gps to apartment...let’s boogey!! It was a race against the clock. Luckily I was able to airdrop all this footage to my computer and return 15 minutes early as promised.
A new face that doesn’t speak much English escorts me to a room for mug shots and finger prints. He asked what I take photos of, so I show him my instagram and he says, wow, you photo Aushwitz…I had family Aushwitz too (exact grammer)…I love your photos, but now we make photo mug shot and finger prints. Is this a joke, are these the nicest people or what?
Visual Evidence:)
In walks the detective and says ok Mr. Seth, I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you prefer first? Lay it on me I replied, at this point the day is a win in my book! Well, the good news is that you are free to go, no fines and no arrest. The bad news is that the we have to confiscate the drone…I tried my best but the prosecutor said no. Well, I suppose it was just going to good wasn’t it? Shit, I really felt good about keeping the drone since it was only 3 weeks old but hey….c’est la vie. He waited for another moment to see my reaction and then says, yeah it’s just that….it’s just that…I’m fucking with you, I convinced her to let you keep it!!
No way shosé…wtf is going on that these people are so fantastic? We went upstairs to collect my belongings, took a photograph together and said our farewells. Just as I was leaving he called out…wait…your sd card, you almost forgot it (with a wink).
I walked outside a free man, with all my belongings and thought, did he delete all the footage? I popped the card in, pulled up the app and sure enough…the footage was all there. The rest of my voyage was walking on sunshine and I’ll never forget, “The Champs Elysees That Almost Got Away.”
P.S. When you show respect first, it’s much easier to receive it!
Check out @sethadamphotography on IG for more Paris images