It was previously considered to be in the public domain because it is a scan (or similar) by the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, but not everything scanned by the BNF is automatically in the public domain.
It is possible that this file is in the public domain for other reasons, for example because it was published a long time ago (anything before ca. 1900 is most likely ok) or because its author / artist / photographer died over 70 years ago and it was published over 95 years ago. In such cases, a new rationale should be applied, and a different license tag (see Commons:Licensing and valid license tags at Commons:Copyright tags) should be used.
If the file is not found to be in the public domain, it might be nominated for deletion (NOT by any automatic process, but manually).
See below for the previous rationale (not applicable anymore).
Previous public domain rationale, no longer applicable
This work is in the public domain in France for one of the following reasons:
Its author (or the last of its authors in the case of a collaboration work) died more than 70 years ago (CPI art. L123-1) and did not benefit from any copyright extension (CPI art. L123-8, L123-9 and L123-10)[1];
It is an anonymous or pseudonymous work (the identity of the author has never been disclosed) or a collective work[2] and more than 70 years have passed since its publication (CPI art. L123-3);
It is the recording of an audiovisual or musical work already in the public domain, and more than 50 years have passed since the performance or the recording (CPI art. L211-4).
Please note that moral rights still apply when the work is in the public domain. They encompass, among others, the right to the respect of the author's name, quality and work (CPI art. L121-1). Attribution therefore remains mandatory.
↑Copyright extensions must be considered only in the case of musical works and of authors Mort pour la France (died during conflict, in the service of France). In other cases, they are included in the 70 years post mortem auctoris length (see this statement of the Cour de Cassation).
↑The collective work status is quite restrictive, please make sure that it is actually established.
Please note that moral rights still apply when the work is in the public domain. They encompass, among others, the right to the respect of the author's name, quality and work (CPI art. L121-1). Attribution therefore remains mandatory.
