DGAC permission to fly in France on a LAPL
 

I have a LAPL licence which used to allow me to fly into France. Now of course, being a UK only licence, that privilege has been withdrawn.
Strangely enough, if I had an LAA aeroplane the LAA have made a very sensible agreement with the French to allow LAA aircraft to fly in their airspace on a UK LAPL, but sadly, not a part 21 aircraft.
Obviously a PPL upgrade is one route to regain those rights to fly in the EU and another is to get permission from the member states concerned.
With this in mind I was wondering if anyone had any experience of contacting the DGAC to get permission to fly a part 21 aircraft ( in this case a Piper PA28) into France on a UK LAPL.
I'd particularly like to know the point of contact and what the terms of the arrangement involve?

Thanks

Gasil

A Part 21 aircraft is not an issue and can be flown anywhere in the world subject to ICAO rules. The main issue is likely to be your medical. If you are flying on a sub ICAO UK LAPL/ self declaration medical then that may be an issue. In the past France have accepted NPPL holders as you say but the pilots were required to hold an ICAO recognised medical such as the UK class 2 as a minimum.

The first step is to write to DCAG and ask them for their acceptable requirements and the process.

Thanks for the reply. I know it's a long shot but what I'm hoping for is a way into the DGAC website. A point of contact, an email address.
My French is n'est pas bien, I can just about order a room in a hotel so negotiating the DGAC website is a bit of a challenge.
I think you're correct about the medical, I seem to remember hearing that somewhere before - I think the channel islands require it.

I've never had any interaction with the DGAC, nor am I likely to, however the following (in English) may be of some use?:

https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/en/fren...tion-authority

There appear to be several email addresses, physical addresses, and 'phone numbers that are probably worth pursuing. If you get really stuck I could try translating something for you, but I'm absolutely certain there'd be others way better at it than me!

FP.

I'm flying on a French LAPL so it definitely exists in France. I have a French medical, restricted to LAPL privileges. Valid two years. Ask and see what you can get. Worth a try.

You don't need to identify a point of contact at DGAC. follow the online instructions on their website, to present your query, use google translate if needed. Following your request they identify who needs to respond to you and refer it on, it is very simple. In my experience they deal with queries quickly. I expect that you will have a factual and authoritive response.

Of course one can also use a more decent translation service, myself prefer www.deepl.com