C‑DRONE
Top-down orthophoto-style view of farmland parcels captured by drone

🗺️ SURVEYING & PHOTOGRAMMETRY · SÈTE (34) · €800–3,000 PER DAY

Drone surveying & photogrammetry in Sète

Drone photogrammetry turns a few hundred aerial photos into precision survey products: georeferenced orthophotography at 1–3 cm/pixel, digital surface and terrain models, 3D point clouds, contour lines, stockpile and earthworks volume calculations. With an RTK/PPK drone and ground control points measured by centimetre-grade GNSS, accuracy reaches 2 to 5 cm both horizontally and vertically — sufficient for most development studies, at a fraction of the cost of an exhaustive ground survey.

We cover from 1 to several hundred hectares per day depending on the required resolution, including hard-to-access sites: working quarries, landfills, riverbanks, industrial wasteland. Deliverables come in your coordinate system (Lambert 93 / RGF93, conic conformal projections) and standard formats (GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ, DXF, GIS formats). Chartered surveyors, civil engineering offices, quarry operators and local authorities are regular clients.

Free quote — surveying & photogrammetry in Sète

Rates

€800–3,000 per day — the range observed on the 2026 French market, including regulatory preparation, flight and delivery. The exact quote depends on the site, the deliverable and the airspace context in Sète.

Common use cases

The local context in Sète

Set between the Mediterranean and the Thau lagoon, Sète — the "singular island" dear to Paul Valéry and Georges Brassens — unfolds its canals animated by Languedoc water jousting, its fishing port (France's leading Mediterranean fishing port), Mont Saint-Clair with its panoramas, and the Thau shellfish tables where oysters and mussels mature. The commercial port and terminal areas (ferries to Morocco, cruises) are sensitive; the Thau lagoon, a Natura 2000 site, calls for flights respectful of production zones and birdlife.

The Sète economy combines fishing and shellfish farming, a growing commercial port, cultural tourism (Paul Valéry museum, MIAM, Festival de Thau, Worldwide Festival) and winegrowing on nearby slopes. Drone missions: tourism and cultural imagery, port construction monitoring, shellfish and fishing operations, sea-view real estate, coverage of the Saint-Louis jousting tournament.

Applicable regulations

Survey flights mostly take place outside built-up areas, in open category A2 or A3 (photogrammetry drones weigh 900 g to 6 kg) flying automated grid patterns below the regulatory 120 m. Long corridors or populated sites fall under the specific category (STS-01/STS-02, or an operational authorisation for BVLOS on long corridors). The operator is registered on AlphaTango and checks regulated zones on Géoportail: quarries and industrial estates are often near airfields or under military low-altitude training routes (RTBA), requiring protocols or time slots. Legally binding georeferencing (enforceable boundary plans) remains the exclusive remit of chartered surveyors, with whom we work as subcontractors.

Frequently asked questions

What accuracy can a drone survey guarantee?

With an RTK drone and ground control points, we guarantee 2 to 5 cm XYZ accuracy, verified against independent checkpoints whose residuals are documented in the processing report.

Does a drone survey replace a chartered surveyor?

No for legally binding documents (boundary demarcation, land division): that is the chartered surveyor's legal monopoly. Yes for technical studies: our deliverables feed directly into civil works design, volume calculations and environmental studies.

Does vegetation interfere with photogrammetric surveys?

Yes: photogrammetry measures the visible surface, so the canopy rather than the ground beneath. For wooded areas, we offer drone LiDAR, which penetrates vegetation and reconstructs the bare terrain.

Can this service be flown anywhere in Sète?

Almost: Emprises du port de commerce et des terminaux ferries; Étang de Thau classé Natura 2000 (avifaune, zones conchylicoles). Depending on the exact location, the pilot picks the right framework (open or specific category) and files the required declarations — included in the quote.

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