Drones fly in the night, in a perfectly choreographed ballet. Suddenly, they form a formation, and their colors change: together, they draw with their lights a bottle, a glass, to the delight of the spectators. This scene, seen in the Bordeaux sky at the end of June on the occasion of the “Bordeaux celebrates wine” festival, is representative of a booming market. Even if it means walking on the flowerbeds of traditional fireworks.
Faced with the reluctance of local authorities, a certain number of whom give up organizing pyrotechnic shows on July 14 for fear of fires or violence, drone shows appear to be an attractive alternative. Quieter and less restrictive to install, these machines produce no debris and can reproduce any shape. So many qualities that convince both public and private customers.
The enthusiasm is real, underlines Camille Beaumont. “It’s really crazy. For example, we reached eleven events and flew 3000 drones in the sky in the space of a weekend”, boasts the communication and marketing manager of Dronisos. Launched in Bordeaux in 2016, his company is now the leader on the European market, organizes all the drone shows at Disneyland Paris and even operates in the United States and the Middle East. It now aims to create real hubs there, “with a stock of drones and an office on site”.
This enthusiasm for small flying machines is also confirmed by another specialist in the sector, Allumee. This company launched in Lyon in 2020 “hopes to double” its activity and exceed a hundred shows this year. “We can clearly see that there is a growing interest in drone shows,” smiles Édouard Ferrari. The advantages of drones are substantial, such as the absence of noise pollution, pollution or fire risk, lists the founder. Its teams offer “drone light shows” mobilizing between 100 and 600 machines for winter sports resorts as well as in town, such as Les Mureaux, Menton or Le Touquet.
No question of replacing the fireworks. The two systems are complementary, insist the various players in the sector. At Disneyland Paris, the drone show is thus added to the fireworks imagined by the company Ruggieri, which specializes in the design of pyrotechnic shows. A choice that defends the largest amusement park in France, which offers “always more magic” at its Disney Dreams night shows.
“It’s a great alternative, but we don’t bring the same thing. Drone shows are fully customizable, you can tell stories and generate other types of emotions, ”says the founder of Allumee, who refuses to position himself as a competitor to pyrotechnics. Same speech at Dronisos: “It is ultimately quite different in that, for us, it is about telling stories, developing a script and being in the narration. Drones make it possible to create 3D figures, write words in the sky or even reproduce the shape of a building,” explains Camille Beaumont.
In Bordeaux, the municipality is delighted. “The drones have allowed us to enhance our territory and tell our story”, welcomes Ségolène Faget, the general coordinator of “Bordeaux celebrates wine”, who assures that her event benefited from a huge “media buzz” thanks to the small flying machines. Under the amazed eyes of the spectators, the drones first formed “a cloud of small insects, which turned into butterflies, then into a bunch of grapes, before becoming a barrel of wine, a bottle and finally, a glass of red wine,” says this manager of the Bordeaux Tourist Office. A “magical and very artistic” symbol of the “biodiversity cycle” of the Bordeaux region.
Faced with these competitors, the pyrotechnicians remain confident. Pyrotechnics “still has a bright future” ahead of it, says Ruggieri artistic director David Proteau. The main difference is mainly the price. Today, a drone show costs two to three times more than pyrotechnics. “On average throughout France, we must have a budget of around 4,500 euros for a fireworks display, whereas at less than 50,000 euros, you will not have a breathtaking drone show”, he says. . Not enough to make event organizers back down. Like the mayor of Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, François Richaud, who chose to organize a drone show for the 40,000 holidaymakers that his town welcomes each summer, instead of the traditional fireworks. Last year, a prefectural decree had indeed forced the elected official to cancel the two fireworks planned “because of the excessive risk of fire” in this seaside resort bordered by maritime pines. “I prefer to spend 45,000 euros for a drone show that takes place, rather than 40,000 euros for two canceled fireworks”, slice the city councilor.
Another problem for drone specialists is their strike force. The fleet available in France is not yet large enough to dethrone fireworks. “More than 10,000 fireworks are fired at the same time on July 14, while with the number of drones available, we could not do more than 10 shows max throughout France”, assures David Proteau. “We are far from being able to replace fireworks”, adds the one who is considered in France as the king of pyrotechnic shows.
For David Proteau, “the drone is slow, it lacks the noise and mystery of fireworks”. The show cannot “exceed ten minutes” either, for lack of sufficient battery for the drones. In addition, the manager is unconvinced by the ecological argument: “I am wary of drones that fall, especially in water, with lithium batteries that are unrecoverable. Opposite, pyrotechnics is becoming more and more eco-friendly, with 100% carbon-free fires and no more plastic and aluminum rejection, “defends the man who designed the Eiffel Tower fireworks last year. . This does not prevent him from dreaming of creating a mixed show launched from the Iron Lady. “For the moment, the Paris police headquarters is not ready, but it will happen. Perhaps the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be a springboard in this direction,” he hopes.