Paris restricts filming of action scenes in wake of attacks

Paris is a popular city with filmmakers. But with the French capital on alert after last month’s terror attacks, officials say filming some scenes, like those with actors in police uniforms or carrying weapons, must be put on hold.

Paris authorities fear that the actors involved in such scenes could become the targets of attackers or confuse locals at a time when armed police and soldiers are patrolling the city.

But the Paris Prefecture (police authority) stressed that this “temporary measure” would only be imposed while Paris remains at its highest terror alert level, which has been maintained since the January 7 attacks.

“We are still authorising filming on a case-by-case basis,” police commander Sylvie Barnaud told Le Monde on Friday, in an article critical of an AP report that many news sites chose to headline: “Paris bans filming of action movies.”

So far the Prefecture has refused requests for “four or five” action scenes to be filmed, but insisted there was no “de-facto ban”.

“The measure has in no way changed our way of working with the film industry,” he said.

Not one request by foreign production companies had been denied “simply because no applications were made during January”, he added, insisting there was no reason to suppose the city had banned “Hollywood-style action movies” being made in Paris.

Last year, Paris gave permits for more than 1,000 films to be shot in the city.

Below are two classic movie action sequences that would probably still pass muster with the Paris authorities, despite the city's high terror alert status.