Yes I know I can ask for a visual approach, but I wanted to specifically fly the arrival over the city at sunset.
I back to the thread title…
I’ve been cleared to climb VFR into the Paris Class A TMA by Paris info. Leaving St Cyr in the Autumn there was a layer of crud and after contacting Paris info, I stated my intention to “climb above the haze when clear of the TMA” and was immediately instructed to climb and report maintaining etc.
As it was an instruction in my interest, I did it right away without question. I saw it as a safety overrules the law thing.
Off topic posts are OK up to a point, but when there is a torrent of them, every 2nd or 3rd post in a thread, and the poster has been more than adequately notified, they will be moved or deleted.
As someone who controls Area sectors with Class A airspace in the UK, I can assure you that the ONLY 2 ways a VFR aircraft will enter CAS is either for the purposes of flight safety…. By that I mean that the pilot has encountered some weather phenomenon that means the only SAFE course of action to remain VMC is to climb into Class A. Of course, other scenarios may exist but I chose that as the most likely. In 20+yrs in ATC I have yet to see/hear of that happening at my unit.
OR
It is operating under a specific (and temporary) exemption granted by the National Authority. e.g. BBMF doing a flypast at Buckingham Palace transiting LTMA.
VFR in Class A is prohibited for very good reason so anyone offering a clearance to do so is incorrect UNLESS it is operating in one of the above scenarios.
SD
Thanks @Spamcan_Defender – this is as I thought.
I would also expect UK ATC to know the rules and have good enough ELP to know what is going on 
In a lot of “old” Europe, particularly the more southern bits, ATC are only just hanging in there ELP-wise, and probably are unable to get into a discussion around whether VFR in Class A is allowed because that needs a certain level of English. So it is easier to just let things go.
