Overview of French Gun Laws

I heard a joke years ago. In heaven: The French are the chefs. The Italians are the lovers. The Germans are the mechanics. The English are the policemen. The Swiss are the administrators. In hell: The English are the chefs. The Swiss are the lovers. The Italians are the mechanics. The Germans are the policemen. The French are the administrators.

It is very little known that French gun laws became so restrictive only very recently. Until 1914 it was legal to own anything, and I mean anything: a private citizen could legally own heavy artillery. Until 1939 small arms were pretty much unregulated as far as I know. And until 1982 you could buy shotguns and .22 pistols and rifles over the counter at most supermarkets. Magazine-fed .22 rifles with scope and silencer.

Had some friends from France vacation with me one summer and we shot some of my collection of firearms. Black powder through ARs and H&Ks. When we visited them after the son had just completed his training as a Gendarme. When his class was asked who had ever fired a weapon, he was the only one to respond yes. He said my closet had more firearms than his stations gun locker.

Here in Taiwan you can own anything except whatever is in used of the police.....the catch is, you won't get any license unless you have some political pull. Or a foreigners with the permission document issued by the ambassadors of your country. So...we can actually see more foreigners with firearms than our civilians. Yes, we, average civilians of Taiwan, are actually of second class.

"... because France...." I love it. It's too early to laugh that hard

There's been an update : a gun in B is still in B. But a High capacity magazine (more than 10 rounds for rifles with central percussion cartridges, 30 rounds for rimfire rifles and 20 rounds for handguns) is classified in A category. You can buy and own an A category magazine with a B authorization. What happens : as soon as you plug the A magazine in a B gun, the gun is classified in A category but you're still allowed to shoot it at a shooting range.

"this bureaucratic mess" lol that's completely right !

I'm french and I love firearms, however this is so complicated to own and have fun with weapons legally in here it sucks

I am french and I can legally own a six shot cap and ball 44cal, shoot in my backgarden, and keep it loaded on my coffee table, because I'm over eighteen. But if I want a single shot 22flobert pistol... I need a licence deliverd by the local government which takes a looonnng time and is a real pain in the ass to obtain, the only place alowed to shoot it is at proper shooting shooting range, and I am supposed to keep it unloaded, lock in a certified gun safe. Because... it's seems logic I guess.

Hey Ian, I'm a French shooter and the law did changed, ex-machine guns are now in A category but those who own them can renew their authorisation, they cannot resell it however, and most shotguns ended up in B. Also, the process of surrendering B categories is simple here because one just doesn't OWN his semi auto gun. Theyre is no property rights on a b category gun. You don't technically buy them, you kinda rent them from the government. So any excuse is ok to take the gun away.

As a person who lived for years in the US before coming to France, I gotta say it’s pretty frustrating overall to rely on a freaking knife as my home security go-to. Also it’s funny how gun stores are more common in here than in th US.

Really interesting, as always I’m constantly surprised and gratified by the breadth of knowledge on this channel

A system like this would benefit greatly from predictability and rationality. I wouldn't mind putting the time required in if I knew my collection wasn't likely to suddenly become illegal.

Can you do Czech gun laws? From my perspective, the Czech Republic is actually one of the most gun-friendly countries in Europe. The type of weaponry you can get here is pretty much identical to what you can get in some of the more gun-friendly US states. Funny thing, if you have an authorization to purchase (let's say) a semiauto rifle, you can get SBRs no problem, no NFA-style tax. I happen to own a 12.5" short-stroke piston AR-15. The only thing you have to do to get an authorization to purchase a semiauto rifle (and any B category weapon in general) is to submit a request for authorization at your designated police department along with a ~$10 tax stamp (it's all shall issue, so no problem). 30-round mags, 40-round mags, 100-round mags, no problem, no restrictions, no limits. You can buy them even without a gun license. *we'll see how that turns out after that retarded EU firearms directive gets implemented.

I'm confused as hell. I think after three viewings I'll still have no idea. It's complex, that's for sure. The French never do anything by half measures.

The gun law "series" of videos are fascinating.

As a french viewer, and sport shooter aficionados, I have to say that this overview of our gun law is pretty well depicted, and apart from some other dangerous objects, Edward have mention pretty much everything there is to know. well done ! And for those who wants a bonus fact, know that it exist a so called " young hunter accompanied licence ", which allows teenagers from 15 years old to hunt and shoot, accompanied with a already experiment hunter, and also the " young competitive shooter licence ", in the case of a young state level competitive shooter ( mostly skeet shooting ), from at least 16 years old, to own, shoot and buy a D or C category firearm, under the responsibility of his legal representative.

Fun facts: Lebel is D2, Berthier 1892 is C! Luger artillerie is B, luger carbine is D! And more crazy with the new law: Lebel is still in D, but deactivated Lebel is now in C!!!

Very interesting topic to cover, I especially appreciate you physically going to France in order to bring the information and a flavor of perspective directly from a French person first-hand.

Once again, Ian, I just want to thank you for taking the time to make these explainer videos about foreign gun laws! Debates are only improved when the facts are clearly stated.