The Local France

EXPLAINED: How gun control laws work in France

Wed, 04 Oct 2017 15:40:00 +0200

France has strict gun control laws, but illegal weapons are widespread and these have been used in most of the deadly terror attacks in the country in recent years - here are the rules and the reality on gun ownership in France.

French arms trafficking suspect jailed pending trial

Sun, 29 Apr 2018 16:42:39 +0200

A French consulate worker charged with smuggling arms from Gaza to the West Bank will remain in custody throughout his trial, an Israeli court ruled on Sunday.

French mayor tries to shoot cat but hits schoolboy in head

Tue, 06 Mar 2018 12:27:19 +0100

A mayor of a village in the Charente area of western France was being held in custody after accidentally shooting a boy in the head when he was aiming for a cat.

Hundreds of guns, grenades, ammo seized from French sports shop owner

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 18:28:19 +0100

Hundreds of assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols, along with hand grenades and 100 kilos of ammunition, have been confiscated from a sports shop owner in the northern French port town of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Balkan weapons trafficked in to France still 'major problem'

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 10:00:20 +0100

A year after jihadists used weapons manufactured in Serbia to gun down victims in Paris, Balkan countries are struggling to end the scourge of illegal arms trafficking.

French look to arm themselves after attacks

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 18:12:16 +0100

Recent shocking terror attacks in France have encouraged many to try to get hold of their own firearms, new figures reveal.

French police lifeguards get guns for summer beach patrol

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 11:56:44 +0200

Authorities in France have given specialist police lifeguards the right to carry arms when they patrol French beaches this summer. It marks a first in France.

3,000 undercover armed guards to patrol French trains

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 13:05:10 +0200

The terror attacks in France continue to have knock-on effects in terms of security with 3,000 plain-clothed SNCF train guards soon to become the latest law and order group to carry guns.

Guns in France: Now security guards could be armed

Fri, 04 Mar 2016 17:08:46 +0100

After local and off duty police were encouraged to carry guns, now security guards in France could be given the right to bear arms, as the government hopes more weapons may be the answer to the increased terror threat.

Crackdown on guns after Marseille shooting

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 19:41:35 +0200

France’s interior minister has called for a comprehensive plan to combat arms trafficking in the country, after a shooting early Sunday killed one man and injured five people in the centre of Marseille.

French mayor held after 'shooting' at youth mob

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 20:44:00 +0200

Every French mayor has their breaking point it seems and Alain Tharon is no different. The elected official in charge of a small French commune in eastern France was hardly the most democratic in his efforts to deal with a mob who had confronted him at his home.

Police charge gun-runner in Merah murders

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:32:00 +0200

French police have charged a 30-year-old man with supplying weapons used by Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah when he killed seven people in and around the southern city of Toulouse last year.

Soldier held in hunt for Merah accomplices

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:48:00 +0100

A serving French soldier was arrested on Wednesday for questioning in connection with a hunt for accomplices of Mohamed Merah, the Islamist gunman who killed seven people in southwestern France last year.

Two new arrests over Merah shooting spree

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:41:00 +0100

French police have arrested two men in connection with last year's attacks by extremist gunman Mohamed Merah, whose shooting spree in and around the southern city of Toulouse left seven people dead.

Bullet kills driver after 'freak rebound' off boar

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:40:00 +0100

A French motorist has been killed in an apparent freakish accident, after a bullet fired by a hunter ricocheted off a wild boar, before travelling almost 2 km across fields, through the driver's window and eventually striking the driver in the head.

Tourist family murdered in Alps gun attack

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:56:00 +0200

A four-year-old girl miraculously survived a deadly gun attack in the French Alps that left her father, mother and grandmother dead and her elder sister seriously injured, officials said on Thursday.

Diver finds arms cache near Marseille

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:32:46 +0100

A diver off the coast near the southern city of Marseille found several weapons left under water. Police suspect the arms might be linked to a spike in shootings on the Riviera in recent weeks.