Surveillance cameras on public roads and in places open to the public

Verified 10 December 2024 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of the Interior

You've been filmed on the street and you wonder if it's legal? Yes, some people can set up video surveillance where warranted. You have the option to view these images and request that they be deleted. You can also report abnormal use of CCTV cameras. We present you with the information you need to know.

Public authority

Any public authority (e.g. a mayor) may establish a video protection system on public roads when it is responsible for:

  • Protection of public buildings and installations and their surroundings
  • Safeguarding facilities useful to national defense
  • The regulation of transport flows
  • The establishment of infringements of traffic rules
  • The prevention of attacks on the safety of persons and property in places particularly exposed to the risk of aggression, theft or drug trafficking
  • Prevention of acts of terrorism
  • Prevention of natural or technological risks
  • Relief for people and fire defense
  • Safety of public facilities in amusement parks
  • Compliance with the obligation to have civil liability insurance to drive a vehicle (car, motorbike, scooter, etc.)
  • Prevention and detection of an offense related to the abandonment of refuse, waste, materials or other objects

Public authorities can also film a place or establishment open to the public to protect the immediate vicinity of shops in places exposed to the risk of aggression or theft.

Cameras shall not be capable of visualizing the entrance and interior of residential buildings.

FYI  

Cameras shall not be capable of visualizing the entrance and interior of residential buildings.

In order to install a surveillance camera on the public highway, in a place or in an establishment open to the public, the public authority must make a application for authorization to the prefecture of the place where this facility will be set up (or to the police department whether the camera is to be fixed in Paris or in the Bouches-du-Rhoneymoon).

If necessary, they should also do a data protection impact assessment.

Company and public establishment

A company or a public institution (e.g. RATP) may film the immediate approaches to its buildings and facilities in places exposed to acts of terrorism.

To install a surveillance camera on the public highway, the company or public institution must make a application for authorization to the prefecture of the place where this facility will be set up (or to the police department whether the camera is to be fixed in Paris or in the Bouches-du-Rhoneymoon).

If necessary, they should also do a data protection impact assessment.

FYI  

The Prefect (or Police Prefect) may order the temporary closure of a facility open to the public in which a video protection system has been set up unauthorized.

Merchant

A shopkeeper can film the public highway to ensure protection of the immediate surroundings of its buildings and installations, in places exposed to risks of aggression, theft or to acts of terrorism.

To install a surveillance camera on the public highway, the merchant must:

  • Make a application for authorization to the prefecture of the place where this facility will be set up (or to the police department whether the camera is to be fixed in Paris or in the Bouches-du-Rhône)
  • Inform the mayor of the municipality in which he wishes to settle this system.

FYI  

The Prefect (or Police Prefect) may order the temporary closure of the business in which a video-protection system has been set up unauthorized.

A poster or sign, including a pictogram representing a camera, shall indicate the existence of a video protection system allowing the filming of the public highway or a place open to the public.

The poster (or placard) must be present continuously in the place concerned.

It must indicate:

  • The name and telephone number of the person responsible for the video protection system
  • The reason why a surveillance camera is settled
  • The steps you can take if you have been filmed (example: request for access to records).

All such particulars must be given in a manner that understandable.

In principle, video recordings can be retained for 1 month, in a secure place. After that, they are destroyed.

However, this delay may be longer if the videos are being used in a police investigation or a police investigation. judicial inquiry.

Please note

The prefectural authorization may specify the minimum duration during which the records are to be saved.

People who can access surveillance camera footage include the following:

  • Agents and operators who report to the person responsible for the video surveillance device (e.g. security officers of the RATPRATP : Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, store manager)
  • Police or national gendarmerie officers designated by the head of department or head of unit under whose authority they are
  • Customs, fire and rescue officials designated by the head of department or head of unit under whose authority they are present.

The images saved within a municipality can be viewed by:

  • Mayor of the municipality concerned
  • Municipal police officers individually appointed by the mayor of the municipality.

When the prefect authorizes the setting up of a video surveillance device, he specifies the person or persons who will be able to view the images as part of his mission.

If you have been filmed on the public highway or in a place open to the public, you have the possibility to request a copy of the video recordings the public authority or professional who has settled a surveillance camera.

You can also ask to view these recordings by contacting the person responsible for the video protection system.

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Get a copy of the video recordings

If you have been filmed, you can ask the organization that settled the video protection system provide you with a copy of the records.

You can make this request by post, using the following letter template:

Request for access to surveillance camera recordings

In principle, the public authority or the professional must give you a copy of the videos you have requested.

However, your demand may be rejected if:

  • It is not well-founded or excessive (for example, if you repeatedly and closely request records that have already been provided to you)
  • The data has been erased.

Please note

Your request can be accepted without blurring other people in these images, provided that it does not harm their privacy.

Watch video recordings

If you have been filmed, you can ask to view images, unless they have been destroyed (in this case, you will be informed).

To do this, you must address your request to the video protection system.

His name and phone number are indicated on the sign indicating the existence of surveillance cameras.

Access to images is a right if you have been filmed. However, exceptionally, your request may be rejected (example: for a national defense purpose).

You can request the erasure of CCTV images if you are in theone of the following:

  • The images are used for advertising purposes
  • The images no longer seem to meet the purpose for which they were saved
  • You withdraw your consent to the use of your image (in the event that you have been asked to do so)
  • The images are being processed illegally (e.g. they have been hacked)
  • You object to the use of your image and the person responsible for the video surveillance device has no legitimate reason to keep them.

To obtain the erasure of these images, you must contact the person responsible for the video surveillance device, by mail RARRAR : Recommended with notification of receipt or by email with acknowledgement of receipt. His name is on the sign for a surveillance camera.

You must specify the images for which you wish to erase and keep any proof to prove that you have made a request.

Please note

If the CCTV operator has doubts about your identity, they can ask you to provide proof of identity (e.g. passport or national identity card).

The device owner must erase the device as soon as possible and at the latest within one month (or 3 months if your request is complex).

If you receive an unsatisfactory response or do not receive a response within one month, you can enter the CnilCnil : National Commission for Informatics and Freedoms.

Who shall I contact

  • National Commission for Informatics and Freedoms (Cnil)

    By mail

    3 Place de Fontenoy

    TSA 80715

    75334 Paris cedex 07

    The CNIL does not receive the public or provide any information on the spot.

    By telephone

    +33 1 53 73 22 22

    Telephone reception open Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 5 pm.

    Legal information open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10am to 12pm.

    By email

    Access to contact form

If you believe that a public authority or a professional has made an abnormal use of the cameras that he has settled, you can bring an action before a departmental commission for video protection.

Who shall I contact

If it finds that there has been abnormal use, the committee may propose that the video protection system concerned.

Examples of abnormal use include:

  • In the event of an invasion of privacy (for example, the camera filmed the entrance to a private dwelling)
  • When the public is not informed of the presence of a camera
  • Where the public authority or the trader keeps the records after the period of one month
  • When the public authority or the professional uses the images for a purpose other than that for which they were filmed (for example, for commercial purposes).

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • For information on procedures specific to CCTV

    National Commission for Informatics and Freedoms (Cnil)

    By mail

    3 Place de Fontenoy

    TSA 80715

    75334 Paris cedex 07

    The CNIL does not receive the public or provide any information on the spot.

    By telephone

    +33 1 53 73 22 22

    Telephone reception open Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 5 pm.

    Legal information open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10am to 12pm.

    By email

    Access to contact form

  • To contact the departmental commission of videoprotection

    Prefecture