3 arrested over Paris drone; no known link to night flights

Jane Onyanga-Omara | Special for USA TODAY

PARIS — Three Al Jazeera journalists were arrested Wednesday for illegally flying a drone, as police hunt for clues into the mysterious devices seen over famous landmarks in the French capital.

Al Jazeera said in a tweet that the journalists were filming a report about the city's mystery drones. The journalists were arrested Wednesday afternoon after a drone was spotted flying over the Bois de Boulogne woods in the western part of the city.

Flying the machines without a license in France is illegal and carries a maximum one-year prison sentence and a $85,000 fine, according to the Associated Press.

There's no known link between the arrests and the other drones, which were seen over Paris for the second straight night, triggering bewilderment, bemusement and concern as the country tightens security in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks.

Five drone sightings were reported near the Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday — a repeat of excursions over the iconic Iron Lady and near the U.S. Embassy the previous night, French news agency AFP reported.

Police are scrambling to figure out who has been operating the drones — first seen late last year — but so far have announced no leads in the bizarre incidents. Dozens of investigators are on the case, France's National Gendarmerie, a branch of the country's armed forces, said in a statement.

Christophe Naudin, a criminologist who specializes in aerial security, said the drones seen in the nighttime skies above Paris on Monday night into Tuesday morning "weren't toys" and cost thousands of dollars.

Still, Naudin said the machines don't pose a threat.

"The worst that can happen is that they fall on someone's head," he said. "After a while, if a drone is out of power it just falls, and it is quite heavy."

The machines seen flying around into Wednesday morning weren't the more sophisticated style of drones, Naudin said, adding they were probably the act of jokers riding on the climate of confusion and tension after the previous night's mystery flights.

Many Parisians remain uneasy more than a month after deadly terrorist attacks in the capital left 17 dead, including 12 at the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Thousands of extra security personnel have been deployed throughout the nation as the government tightens measures against extremism and hate speech and looks to thwart French residents who seek to fight with radicals in Syria.

Germain Chambost, a former fighter pilot in the French air force, said the drones are an attempt to taunt authorities.

"For drones to fly over a city like this without being detected, it means they are very small, equipped with rotors and built with composite material rather than metal — they are not capable of holding a dangerous explosive charge," he said.

Still, Parisian Olivier Charcot, 47, says he finds the situation "worrisome."

"(The authorities) are able to monitor phone and text messages, but not to detect where the signal (of drones) which fly over the nerve centers of the capital," he said.

Naudin said it's likely the drone fliers intended to instill fear.

"The goal here is to scare people and attack the feeling of security of the nation," he said. "Their message is that modern states are incapable of protecting their nation, their territory, their citizens."

For the most part, residents shrugged off the threat. Sophie Bergart, a Parisian and mother of three, said she wasn't concerned about the drones.

"I have far more important worries than what flies over my head," she said. "I am not worried as long as there is nothing clear to worry about."