That seems to be the rule indeed
There are exceptions like Toussus when you can legally land straight, presumably given that the approaching airport will have told you there is no traffic and will have told you the runway
Does it actually say “circling minima” as per the IFR terminal chart?
Under the regulation previously discussed, you could perform the maneuver at some lower height, hence I started the related thread about how low can you fly a “VFR circuit”.
If you intend to circle, you cannot descend below circling minima on the final approach segment. N’est-ce-pas?
I don’t think that interpretation is automatic; see this thread.
On a VFR flight you can “circle around” well below the IFR circling minima.
One could argue that this “inspection requirement” is, or is not, a component of the preceeding IFR flight. I would say it is not because it refers not to prescribed circling tracks, but to flying around the runway and inspecting it.
I would say this distinction is largely irrelevant in practice. Who in their right mind will descend to 200ft on an ILS and then, instead of landing straight in, circle at 200ft to look at the windsock and other signs? Even at circling minima, with one wing scraping the ceiling, I would consider that highly inadvisable.
The good news is, that with weather that bad nobody else will be there, and AFIS is not there either, so nobody will notice if anyone flies straight in.
you might also be able to claim that, in nice visibility, you were able to perfectly see all runway environment and traffic, and that a landing was safe from there.
I think what this is meant to so is that you are not automatically “good to Land” after you break cloud – you have to have time to assess wind / traffic / runway clear. Maybe the law is just meaning to avoid discharging this responsibility on someone else than you
That’s definitely all true, but all you need is some bugger sitting in the cafe (of the otherwise completely deserted airport) who doesn’t like it, and reports you to the DGAC…
In the case of a UK pilot the outcome might be “interesting”, under the new CAA bust-them-all policy. In the old days they used to treat DGAC letters with a lot of caution (because they were often silly, like the one I got in 2003) but nowadays the CAA guy in charge would look for any reason to send somebody 1 step down the CAP1404 enforcement process.
you are not automatically “good to Land” after you break cloud – you have to have time to assess wind / traffic / runway clear.
That, however, is always your responsibility. If somebody is on the runway (even a goat) they “own” the runway.
I can’t follow the detailed legal arguments (I can’t speak French) but if a law says something is illegal then it is illegal even if nobody is affected and what you did was the safest possible thing.
Peter wrote:
That’s definitely all true, but all you need is some bugger sitting in the cafe (of the otherwise completely deserted airport) who doesn’t like it, and reports you to the DGAC…
You do get more sympathy when you come in bad weather, actually those in the cafe don’t even bother asking how did you fly/land 
it is the other guy flying circuit or on the runway, who you need to watch for regrading legal/safe aspects…
