Côte d’Azur: when the paparazzi push back the limits | M6 | Enquête Exclusive

Summer is the season for the paparazzi: with the holidays the people press beats all its sales records. And today the Côte d’Azur is the favourite hunting ground for the world’s scoop hounds. The season starts with the Cannes Film Festival’s opening ceremony and the international stars who provide easy targets on the red carpet for the flash photographers. But for the real paparazzi the scoop is found elsewhere. Palaces, chic parties, private beaches… all those places forbidden to the general public must be gone over with a fine-tooth comb. Infiltration, chases, stakeouts, the good old-fashioned methods still work. However, the paparazzi have moved into the 21st century. Today they work with the Internet, GPS and other high tech gadgetry, but the novelty this summer is the drone: a small remote-controlled plane fitted out with cameras. This equipment, worthy of James Bond, allows paparazzi to get around security measures and fly over areas that are inaccessible by car or boat. From the red carpet of Cannes to luxury hotels hidden from the public gaze by way of sumptuous yachts, we plunge into the secret world of the image chasers.