Preparing your shoot in Paris

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Updated on 21/11/2025

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Visual from the film Eiffel
Crédit photo : Emilie Chaix / Ville de Paris

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Films, series, documentaries, commercials, photo shoots, music videos… Would you like to shoot in Paris? Paris Film, a department of the City of Paris Film Mission, can help you with your project. On this page, you'll find everything you need to know to make your project a success.

The role of Paris Film

Mission Cinéma will be closed from December 25, 2025 to January 2, 2026.
Productions are kindly requested to submit their AGATE applications in early December for any filming scheduled for early January 2026.


Please note that filming conditions are changing (updated February 12, 2025).
- At the request of the Préfecture de Police, shooting effects have been banned throughout the capital.

- As of January 1, 2025, all requests to shoot in AGATE must be accompanied by a signed VHSS Charter (see box and links below).

- As of September 1, 2024, the deadline for filing AGATE requests in ALL Paris arrondissements has been extended to 15 working days (= 3 weeks).

Advertising requests benefit from special treatment and more flexible rules.

Only requests for film shoots taking place in high-voltage arrondissements (Paris Centre, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th and the Butte Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement) are subject to parking bylaws.

For full details, click here.

Lodges are also prohibited from this date.

- Please consult the section on streets closed to parking and streets placed at rest regularly before submitting your requests.

- Please note that the Préfecture de Police does not wish filming to take place within the Champs Élysées perimeter until further notice.

- As of June 1, 2022, the number of authorized technical vehicles has been reduced.
For standard shoots (contemporary films without complex action sequences) in central Paris, the 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th arrondissements and the southern part of the 18th arrondissement (Montmartre district), the maximum number of technical vehicles is limited to 5 (excluding canteens).
In the rest of Paris (8th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, northern 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements), the number of technical vehicles is limited to 8 (excluding canteens).

For exceptional shoots (historical films, action movies or those with a major impact on parking and traffic), please contact the Mission Cinéma as far in advance as possible (at least three months before shooting begins).

Compliance with the 55 db noise standard for generators throughout Paris.
VHSS CONTROL CHARTER

As of January 1, 2025, all film shoots requesting authorization from the Mission Cinéma (with the exception of individual photo shoots and prior requests) must, when submitting their first filming request, file in AGATE the VHSS Control Charter signed by the film's delegated production (or executive production for foreign productions).
The charter can be downloaded from the City of Paris website under "Filming in Paris/Filing an application/Charter against VHSS" or below.
If you do not submit a signed charter to AGATE(under the temporary heading Fiches Techniques), your filming permit application will not be processed.
All types of filming are concerned (cinema, series, audiovisual advertising, short films, documentaries, clips, educational exercises, photo shoots, TV programs, etc.).
At the end of the shoot, the production must complete the form sent to it by the Mission cinéma at the same time as the shooting authorization (link to Google forms).
Link to the resources of the Paris Observatory on Violence against Women: Fighting violence against women - City of Paris

What Paris Film does

Within the Mission Cinéma of the Direction des affaires culturelles, Paris Film is the office in charge of receiving film shoots in Paris. It is the City of Paris' single point of entry for applications for filming permits for fiction (films, series, shorts, web series), advertising films, advertising shoots, artistic photos, documentaries and music videos, in public space sites located within the Paris municipality and managed by the City of Paris.
Paris Film agents are your contacts once you've submitted your filming request. In 2019, over 1,000 filming requests were processed, representing more than 5,000 days of filming in Paris.

What Paris Film doesn't do

Paris Film does not handle requests for reports or live TV programs (game shows, reality shows, live broadcasts and recordings of events, etc.). Please contact: cerffr@cnevf.se[presse puis paris.fr après le signe @]

Please note: the following emblematic sets are not managed by the City of Paris and cannot be used by Paris Film for indoor filming: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre Museum, Tuileries Gardens, Garnier Opera House, Bastille Opera House, Luxembourg Gardens, Orsay Museum, La Défense, Royal Palace, Palace of Versailles, Trocadero esplanade, banks of the Seine, Elysée Palace, National Assembly, Senate, ministries.
To film there, please contact the site managers directly. Paris Film remains your contact to manage any parking requests you may have near these sets.
Paris Film does not provide advice on location scouting.

Two types of authorization depending on your shoot

Declarations for filming on the public highway

Prior declarations are authorizations for light filming, i.e. :
  • in small teams of no more than 10 people, using light equipment (spotlights, steadycam, reflector, etc.)
  • to turn only in streets and/or on bridges located in the commune of Paris, to the exclusion of any other site
  • with no special parking requirements for filming or game vehicles, no requests to intervene in traffic, and no special requests (drones, uniforms, stunts, etc.).
Applications must be submitted at least one week before filming. Applications submitted less than one week before filming may be rejected. Prior declarations are not subject to payment of a fee. They must be accompanied by an undertaking from the production company to comply with the health and safety instructions laid down for filming, failing which they will be rejected.
Good to know
Prior declarations do not allow filming in parks and gardens, sports facilities, on riverbanks, canals, on the Seine, in monuments, inside Parisian buildings…

All these locations must be authorized by AGATE three weeks before shooting. The same applies to requests to park or intervene in traffic, and for requests involving elements of public order: police or emergency uniforms, dummy weapons, silk-screened cars, stunts, explosions… must be requested in our AGATE application.

AGATE filming permits

These authorizations are intended for filming with more than 10 people, in public spaces and in specific settings managed by the City of Paris: parks, gardens, sports facilities, libraries, canals, churches, elementary and primary schools….
They are also suitable for any special requirements:
  • reserve parking spaces for your technical and/or game vehicles,
  • shoot a waterfall,
  • request an intermittent shutdown or neutralization of traffic on a street,
  • request the removal of street furniture,
  • use of washers, lighting modification,
  • organize a rouling,
  • film with police uniforms, silk-screened cars, dummy weapons, game vehicles, drones, etc.
Please submit your request in our digital application AGATE three weeks before shooting. Requests received after this deadline may be rejected.
Once your application has been submitted, you will immediately receive an acknowledgement of receipt. Within 24 to 72 hours, you will receive notification that your application has been assigned to a Paris Film manager, who will be your contact for processing your application.
Before making a request to park or intervene in traffic in AGATE, please take note of the main principles to be respected and sign the now mandatory VHSS Charter to be enclosed with all requests.

Ecological transition

As of January 1, 2025, the energy mix for production will have to take the following directions:
  • Consider the energy requirements of different sets in advance of shooting, so as to provide a differentiated and appropriate response.
  • 360° thinking and action to examine all aspects of the shoot (interior and exterior sets, canteens, dressing rooms, control room).
  • Promote energy-efficient lighting systems
  • Where possible, systematically use temporary connections
  • When power constraints allow, give preference to battery-powered mobile solutions or battery-powered energy kits over gensets.
For a transitional period (2025-2028), the energy mix may include generators with the following characteristics:
  • biofuels such as B100 or HVO/XTL, depending on the type of engine used in the genset
  • stage 5" groups
This means that from January 1, 2025 onwards, traditional diesel units with at least Stage3B (EGR/FAP > catalytic converter and fine particle filter or SCR > AdBlue) engines will only be authorized in exceptional cases by the Mission Cinéma, particularly for large-scale film shoots.
Dressing rooms : if dressing rooms are essential for filming, particularly for certain advertising films, they will be deducted from the number of vehicles authorized to park, and must not use a generator.

Iconic settings

Paris has a number of highly sought-after filming locations. Paris Film issues filming permits for locations managed by the City of Paris. These include: Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes, Parc Monceau, Champ de Mars, canals, all bridges and footbridges…
Please note: Paris Film does not issue permits to shoot inside the following sets: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre Museum, Tuileries Gardens, Garnier Opera House, Bastille Opera House, Bastille Column, Luxembourg Gardens, Orsay Museum, La Défense, Palais Royal, Versailles Palace, Trocadero Esplanade, Parc de la Villette, Jardin des Plantes, Seine banks, Elysée Palace, Matignon, Parliament, ministries.
To shoot there, please contact the site managers directly. Paris Film remains your contact for managing parking requests for technical vehicles near these sets. To make a parking request, go to the AGATE application.

How much does a filming permit cost?

Royalty changes in 2024
Since July 1, 2024, a number of service schedules have been changed following the adoption in May 2024 by the Paris Council of deliberation DAC-341, which corrects and replaces the said schedules of fees and services associated with film shoots in the capital.
There is no charge for processing your filming application. A fee will be charged for filming in specific sets and for parking technical or game vehicles.
To find out how much the City of Paris charges for filming sets and for any City interventions (roads, cleanliness, security), consult the various fees and costs tables below:
A noter
Pricing is based on the number of vehicles: €80 for up to 7 vehicles, €180 for 8 vehicles or more, €240 for 13 vehicles or more, and so on.

Useful contacts

Send us an e-mail to [tournages puis paris.fr après le signe @]gbheantrf@cnevf.se[tournages puis paris.fr après le signe @]. Paris Film is located at Mission Cinéma - 55, rue des Francs-Bourgeois - 75004 Paris

Need information or advice before a shoot? You can contact :
To the City of Paris :

  • Parks and gardens (including Parc Monceau, Parc Montsouris, Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes, Buttes-Chaumont, Champ de Mars, Petite Ceinture): qrir-gbheantrf@cnevf.se[deve-tournages puis paris.fr après le signe @]

  • Sports facilities : qwf-gbheantrf@cnevf.se[djs-tournages puis paris.fr après le signe @]

  • Lighting work: qiq-rpynventr-rirarzragf@cnevf.se[dvd-eclairage-evenements puis paris.fr après le signe @]

Other useful contacts
For questions about image rights and copyright during filming, visit the dedicated page "What can you photograph in Paris".

Shooting with a drone

Requests for drone filming must be sent to Paris Film in accordance with the normal authorization procedure.
Overflown areas must be closed to pedestrian and motorized traffic.

At the same time, requests for drone photography in the public space of Paris must be submitted by professional companies, authorized by the DGAC (Direction générale de l'aviation civile), to the Préfecture de police, with at least 10 working days' notice, at the following address: [pp-cabinet-sdc-bvp-circul puis interieur.gouv.fr après le signe @]cc-pnovarg-fqp-oic-pvephy@vagrevrhe.tbhi.se[pp-cabinet-sdc-bvp-circul puis interieur.gouv.fr après le signe @]

This authorization is mandatory, even when the shots are taken in public gardens, sports fields or along the banks of the Seine. The authorized flight height varies according to the weight of the drone used. Any unauthorized use of a drone exposes the operator to severe penalties.
The safety perimeter (area closed to the public) must be marked out by production blockers. This perimeter is determined by the Préfecture de Police, depending on the height of the flight.
We advise you to use a service provider with experience of shooting in Paris, and to submit as accurate a file as possible to the Préfecture de Police.
For overflights of the Ourcq Canal outside Paris, applications must be submitted to the Prefecture of the department concerned.
The file must include:
  • the acknowledgement of receipt for the declaration of activity, issued by the DGAC or, failing this, the certificate of deposit for the special activities manual;
  • a plan showing the take-off area, the aircraft flight area, the remote pilot, the safety zone around the flight area, a metric scale and a legend;
  • the speed at which the aircraft is moving or climbing ;
  • the agreement of site managers (private, public gardens, stadiums, Seine, canals, etc.), including sites included in the security perimeter.
You'll find all the information you need on the DGAC website.

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