French police pursued several men overnight who are suspected of piloting a drone over the city, the latest in a series of flights of the remote-controlled aircraft that have puzzled law enforcement authorities, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Late Tuesday night, police chased one drone to Porte de Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, where several men were spotted recovering the drone before fleeing in a car, said a police officer. The chase came after several drones were again spotted over Paris in the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, including close to the Eiffel tower, said French police.
Drones, which are illegal over urban areas in France, have repeatedly been spotted flying over Paris during the past few months, raising concerns that they are being used for surveillance purposes. Last month, drones were seen flying over the U.S. embassy and nearby Interior Ministry, while another was spotted briefly over the Élysée Palace, President François Hollande’s official residence, in January.
French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in the French Parliament Tuesday that 60 drone flights had been seen over Paris since Oct. 5.
He said the government had taken new measures “to inform the public about the rules governing the use of those devices when they buy them, and the legal risks involved.”
In October last year, highly-secured nuclear power stations operated by power utility Electricité de France SA were also buzzed by mysterious drones.