Firearm News
France Launches New Software to Better Control Weapons
8 February 2022
Express
Nearly 5 million people, mainly hunters, will have to register their weapons from Tuesday in a new software that is supposed to ensure better control of legally held rifles and pistols in France.
The new tool, designed by the interior ministry and called the Weapons Information System (SIA), replaces the Agrippa application, created in 2007 and deemed "outdated" by Beauvau.
"It is the file of honest people, the holders of weapons who hold them in a regular manner,"... (GunPolicy.org)
North Africa,Slovakia,Czech Republic,France,Serbia,Burkina Faso,Mali
Sahel: Serbian Weapons Used by Brutal Armed Groups
24 August 2021
Amnesty International
Amnesty International's arms experts have identified Serbian-manufactured weapons in videos posted by armed groups operating in the Sahel, including an Islamic State affiliate which has claimed responsibility for hundreds of civilian deaths. The new rifles, some the latest available models, match trade records of Serbia's sales to Burkina Faso, suggesting the weapons were recently sold to the government before falling into the hands of armed groups.
Amnesty... (GunPolicy.org)
Is the Possession of Weapons Sufficiently Regulated in France?
10 June 2021
BFM.TV (France)
As cases of feminicide and gun assaults have increased in recent weeks, many questions have arisen around the sale and control of guns.
Handguns and long guns
At the end of a search carried out on Wednesday at Arthur C.'s, the second man arrested as part of the investigation into the slap given to Emmanuel Macron the day before, in the Drôme, the investigators seized this "booty", as well as a copy of Mein Kampf. This discovery raises many questions about the... (GunPolicy.org)
Over 5 Million Registered Firearms in France
24 November 2020
Ouest France (France)
Combien d'armes circulent en France ?
L'Agrippa [application de gestion du répertoire informatisé des propriétaires et possesseurs d'armes] recensait, au 12 novembre 2020, plus de 5 millions d'armes ( 5 263 642 armes ) : 3 889 660 déclarées et 1 373 982 armes de catégorie A et B soumises à autorisation. En 2009, l'application avait recensé plus de 3 millions d'armes dont 2 147 849 déclarées. C'est donc 1 741 811 armes de plus en circulation dans l'hexagone.... (GunPolicy.org)
Illicit Arms Sales: Togo Receives Help From France to Combat Illicit Trafficking
7 January 2020
TogoWeb (Togo)
[Translated content]
Togo, through the National Commission for the Fight against the Proliferation, Circulation and Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons, has been receiving technical support from France in the area of controlling the illicit arms trade since Monday 6 January 2020. At the end of the meeting, the participants will formulate recommendations to strengthen Togo's legal arsenal in terms of controlling the international arms trade.
"This... (GunPolicy.org)
France Finds 100 Registered Gun Owners on Terror Watchlist
6 July 2017
Agence France Presse
Paris - Authorities in France have identified some 100 people believed to legally own firearms despite being an anti-terror watchlist, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said on Wednesday.
The announcement comes two weeks after a known gun enthusiast rammed a car laden with weapons and gas canisters into a police van on Paris' Champs-Elysees avenue, the latest in a string of jihadist attacks to hit France since 2015.
The attacker, Adam Djaziri, was the only person... (GunPolicy.org)
France,Serbia,Bosnia & Herzegovina
Balkan Countries Struggle to Control Gun Trafficking, Smugglers
16 November 2016
World Bulletin (Turkey)
A year after rebel fighters used weapons manufactured in Serbia to gun down victims in Paris, Balkan countries are struggling to end the scourge of illegal arms trafficking.
The killers who opened fire at the Bataclan theatre, cafes and restaurants in the French capital last November used Yugoslav-era assault rifles produced by Serbia's Zastava Arms.
Months earlier the Kouachi brothers, behind the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices, carried a rocket... (GunPolicy.org)
Should Carrying Hidden Handguns Be Legal in France? [FR]
15 November 2016
Femme Actuelle (France)
[Translated summary: In France, the use of a firearm for self-defence is strictly prohibited. Some advocate for the legalisation of firearms carry for civilians, claiming that a significant number of armed citizens in public spaces could prevent a terrorist attack. Others believe that legal carry is a false solution that could lead to a situation similar to that of the US, where 30,000 die every year victims of firearms.]
En France, l'usage d'une arme à feu pour se... (GunPolicy.org)
French Groups Advocate for a Right to Possess Guns [FR]
15 November 2016
Le Figaro (France)
[Translated summary: Following the attacks targeting France after Charlie Hebdo, several groups are advocating for the right of civilians to arm themselves. Membership of shooting clubs also continues to increase. Currently it is forbidden for a civilian to own a firearm without a hunting permit or a licence from the French Shooting Federation.]
Avec la longue liste d'attaques ayant visé la France depuis Charlie Hebdo, des voix se font entendre pour permettre aux... (GunPolicy.org)
Shooting Clubs Show 38% Membership Growth in France [FR]
4 November 2016
BFMTV (France)
[Translated summary: Amid fear of terrorist attacks in France, membership of shooting clubs jumped from 145,365 to 201,450 between 2011 and 2016, an increase of 38%. Firearm seizures also increased: there were 5,000 in 2014, 6,000 in 2015 and 5,000 so far this year. Nowadays, France has 4.4 million declared guns, and, depending on the source, between 1 and 8 million illegal firearms.]
D'après une enquête de L'Obs, de plus en plus de Français se dotent d'armes à... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,France,Algeria,Saudi Arabia,Yemen,Iraq
Germany's Arms Exports Rise to 4.03 Billion Euros [FR]
26 October 2016
Les Echos (France)
[Translated summary: Germany's arms exports rose to 4.03 billion euros in the first six months of 2016, an increase of 15% in relation to the same period last year. Germany sells to Algeria and Saudi Arabia, a country that is in a controversial war with Yemen, but the Ministry of Economy explains that they have particularly restrictive rules.]
Les crises internationales profitent aux industriels allemands de l'armement. Selon les chiffres publiés mercredi par le... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Saudi Arabia,South Korea,United Kingdom,Germany,Algeria,Switzerland,Netherlands,United Arab Emirates,Turkey,France
Germany Defends Its Sudden Leap in Gun, Ammo Exports [ES]
26 October 2016
Deutsche Welle
[Translated summary: Between January and June 2016, Germany exported firearms and military equipment amounting to €4 billion; an increase of 500 million in relation to the same period in 2015. The government defended its firearm export policy, saying that it's restrictive and transparent and assuring that they give a "special relevance" to the respect of human rights.]
Entre enero y junio de 2016 Alemania concedió permisos de exportación de armas y equipamiento... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,Australia,New Zealand,Japan,Switzerland,France,Poland,Iraq
German Ammo Sales Up Tenfold, €4 Billion Arms Sales in 2016
25 October 2016
Mo4ch (US)
Germany's small arms ammunition sales have increased by 10 times in the first 6 months of 2016, while total arms sales have reached €4 billion over the same period and have set a new record, Deutsche-Presse Agentur (DPA) says, citing a government report.
The total value of the small arms ammo export contracts has risen from €27 million ($29.3 million) in the first half of 2015 to €283.8 million ($308 million) in the first six months of 2016, the reports says,... (GunPolicy.org)
Spain,United States,Greece,Italy,Turkey,France,Syria
Europol Dismantles Spain/Syria/Libya Gun Trafficking Network
11 October 2016
EFE News Agency
A huge haul of arms and drugs was seized from a trafficking network run by Syrian nationals, Spain's police said Tuesday.
A total of 109 people were arrested and 100 tons of hashish, 11,400 firearms, over a million ammunition rounds and 10 tons of explosives were seized in an international operation against a trafficking network that sold drugs to arm jihadist groups in countries like Libya.
The joint operation was carried out by security forces from Spain, Italy,... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Rifle Worth 150 Euros in Serbia, 2000 in Scandinavia
6 October 2016
Balkan Insight (Sarajevo)
Serbia and France on Thursday will sign a protocol empowering the two countries to launch joint investigation teams to combat illicit arms trading.
Mladen Nenadic, Serbia's Prosecutor for Organised Crime, told a conference on Wednesday that over 20 years on from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, the region is still full of arms that are being smuggled to Western countries.
"Terrorist attacks on Western countries show the need to address the issue of the illegal arms trade... (GunPolicy.org)
No Training Required to Own Some Guns in France [FR]
30 September 2016
La Nouvelle Republique (France)
[Translated summary: In France, firearms are divided into 4 categories. Category A includes all military firearms, that are absolutely prohibited. Category B includes firearms that can be owned, but they require a special authorisation. However, guns that belong to the C and D category don't require the owner to know how to handle them, they only need to have a shooting club membership.]
La réglementation sur les armes est très stricte en France. Mais il reste facile... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Amnesty Operation Launched in French Réunion [FR]
19 September 2016
France TV Info
[Translated summary: An amnesty operation has begun in the French Indian Ocean territory of Réunion. Citizens are invited to surrender their firearms, without any sanction until December 15. In past operations, 820 firearms and 31,053 rounds of ammunition were collected in Martinique, and 86 firearms and 3,800 rounds of ammunition in French Polynesia.]
Le but est de réduire le nombre d'armes en circulation de façon illégale à La Réunion. Les particuliers sont... (GunPolicy.org)
Pen Guns on Secretive Internet Site Aimed at Buyers in France
15 September 2016
The Register (United Kingdom)
French hackers are selling concealed weapons including so-called pen guns that fire .22 Long Rifle bullets on highly secretive crime forums, threat researcher Cedric Pernet says.
Videos of the home-made pen guns scattered around the internet show the weapons in working use.
The guns are being sold for €150 (US$169, £127, A$226) alongside other concealed weapons like knuckle dusters and knives, and more expensive conventional large firearms.
Trend Micro's Pernet... (GunPolicy.org)
More Towns, Cities in France Want to Arm their Police [FR]
9 September 2016
La Gazette (France)
[Translated summary: After the attacks, more mayors in France want to arm their municipal police because they think the officers face the same challenges as the national police. In some districts, police will be allowed to carry firearms when they finish their training at the end of the year.]
Les maires estiment que le policier municipal est devenu une cible et que ses missions ont changé, étant de plus en plus proche de celles de la police nationale.
Depuis les... (GunPolicy.org)
China,Russia,France,Ukraine,United Kingdom,Saudi Arabia,Yemen,Israel,Bahrain,Belgium,Oman,Turkmenistan,United Arab Emirates
UK, Second Largest Gun Exporter, Arms the Middle East [FR]
5 September 2016
Sputnik News
[Translated summary: The United Kingdom is the second largest exporter of arms. Between 2010 and 2015, the UK has sold weapons worth 10 million pounds to Oman, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates, countries that are classified as "Non-free" by the Freedom House NGO. Other countries that buy from the UK are Saudi Arabia and Israel.]
Le Royaume-Uni est le deuxième plus grand exportateur d'armes du monde sur les 10 dernières années et devant des pays comme la... (GunPolicy.org)