France's privacy laws are among the world’s strictest, so it is no surprise that their laws on privacy regarding one's image are restrictive as well.
Can I Shoot Footage in Public without Consent?
Yes, you can almost without restrictions shoot anything as long as what you're seeing is visible from public property. You are allowed to shoot people, including police officers or other government officials.
Can I publish Photos taken of Strangers without Consent?
No, unless the photo contributes to the exchange of ideas and opinions deemed indispensable to a democratic society.
Can I use Street Photos commercially?
Only with consent of the model / subject.
Court Cases
Photos of recognizable individuals are allowed to be taken and published without consent when "a photograph contributes to the exchange of ideas and opinions, deemed 'indispensable' to a democratic society." This happened in 2008, when a woman objected to the use of her image by photographer François-Marie Banier in his book 'Perdre la Tête'.
In November 2012, an appeals court ruled in another case that simply being in a photograph entitled the subject to compensation. Source: New York Times