Is the approach ban valid at an airport which has no RVR reporting?

The point is the law states RVR or visibility. Although there is a method of converting visibility to RVR, some procedures require a visibility, and the approach ban makes it explicit that you cannot continue beyond 1000’ afe without the required visibility.

For the straight in approach, yes. If you wish to circle, you require 1500m vis at night.

Not somewhere I’d choose to circle in minimum visibility in the dark mind…

In France:

MIN 2.405 Commencement et poursuite de l’approche
(…)
(c) Lorsqu’il n’y a pas de RVR disponible, une valeur équivalente de RVR peut être obtenue en convertissant la visibilité météorologique transmise au moyen du sous-paragraphe (l) de l’appendice 1 au MIN 2.430.(c)
(d) En l’absence de RVR/visibilité transmise, les dispositions du paragraphe (m) Procédures IFR sans organisme de la circulation aérienne de l’appendice 1 au MIN 2.430 sont applicables

Appendice 1 au MIN 2.430 (m) Procédures IFR sans organisme de la circulation aérienne.
(2) A l’arrivée.
Les procédures d’approche aux instruments ne sont autorisées que s’il existe une station désignée pour fournir le QNH ou un système de transmission automatique de paramètres (STAP) et si l’aérodrome est ouvert à de telles opérations.
Elles sont obligatoirement suivies d’une manœuvre à vue libre.

Translation: if there is no RVR available, “an equivalent RVR may be obtained by factoring the Meteorological Visibility” (using a table I cannot easily copy/paste )
It means that if an RVR is available, you may not use the visibility. If no RVR is available, you must use the factored visibility for the approach ban.

If no visibility nor RVR is available, you must proceed as if the airfield was unattended.
When the airfield is not attended, you must do a circling approach. All the French approach plates I know require 1500 vis for a circling approach when the airfield is not attended. I assume that you may, just as a VFR pilot does, self assess if the vis is over 1500m.

Straight in approaches are forbidden in France, VFR or IFR, at unattended airfields, but usually nobody cares.
If an AFIS is available, a straight in approach is (provided VIS/RVR is known) allowed for IFR flights. A straight in approach at an uncontrolled airfield is allowed for VFR flights only if the 3 following conditions are met: 1 you are alone in the circuit, 2 RT is mandatory, 3 AFIS is available.
In France, people usually don’t care knowing the rules as usually people don’t plan to follow them. Most people will do a straight in approach even if no visibility is available, whether the airfield is attended or not…

It’s going to be a nightmare if everyone files differences to EASA on the approach ban.

I have been having a quiet afternoon and have looked up the FAA rules. Approaches are not allowed to non-towered airports unless an AWOS is operating and the local weather and QNH are available. All eminently sensible stuff. I don’t know how much an AWOS costs to install, but I can’t help but think that EASA would add a 0 to the costs, which would be another obstacle in the way of ATC-free IAPs.

In France, IFR at unattended airfields requires a QNH too, which is provided by another airport, and MDA is higher when unattended
eg Royan LFCY: MDH for circling is 560ft if using local QNH, 880ft if using Bordeaux QNH when unattended

Without a measurable RVR, ie. quantifiable and recordable, then no dice. Any half decent lawyer would have a field day. Just a note on the 800m RVR approach ban, this is only if you don’t use a fully coupled AP.

Can one depart IFR on plates takeoff minima with no ATC? or are they stuck with 1500m visibility?

Say IFR departures from non-ATC IFR airports with published departures (and some initial IFR clearance on the phone)