When a La Rochelle man parked him in the parking lot of Nantes Atlantique Airport, he was fined 2,000 euros for "forgot" to turn off the GPS jammer in his vehicle.
The Nantes court said that when he flew to Africa in April, the fifty-year-old left the jammer in the car. The device disrupted the tracking system of the aircraft entering and exiting the airport, causing several flight delays before being located and disabled.
The French National Intelligence Agency said that in France, it is illegal for members of the public to use GPS jammers, although law enforcement officials can use them in certain circumstances. However, this has not stopped some motorists from using them to avoid paying road tolls or keeping vehicles tracked. They form bubbles around the vehicle and can block GPS signals up to 500 m.