Here's a summary of how firearms laws work in France. I found this description on Reddit and it was posted about a year ago. It's definitely much more complicated than what we deal with in the US.
French Gun Law 101 (How to get an AR-15 in France, 2023)
Hello everyone !
I thought some of you would be interested in how other country are ruling the AR-15 (and other weapons). In that case my country : France
So we will focus on the way to get an AR-15, but with some detail on the side laws.
I'll be the more straightforward as I can and add some info later in annexes and comment if needed.
Italic is optionnal, just little commentary along the way
BOLD is for major informations
There is around 5.4 millions registered weapons in France
989 000 Registered Hunter
240 000 Sport Shooters
Categories
Weapons in France are listed in one of the 4 main types :
Type A Illegal for civilians Automatic, Explosives,Pistols with mags greater than 21 rounds, Rifles with mag greater than 30 rounds
Type B Authorization needed Semi automatic weapons (pistols or rifles) or weapons using "military rounds"
Type C Declaration needed "Hunting" rifles, Lever action rifles, bolt action that do not use "military" ammo
Type D Legal to buy Black powder weapons not using metalic cartridges, taser, pepper spray, knife, air guns
Military rounds are : 7,62 × 39 / 5,56 × 45 (.223) / 5,45 × 39 / 12,7 × 99 / 14,5 × 114
And also nearly all pistol rounds, 9 x 19 / .38 /.357 / .45 ACP...
The categories are a little more complex than that as there is Sub-categories but you get the point
Like you can have a semi-auto shotgun in 3+1 bullet in the chamber and be in the type C.
Who can get what ?
So basically :
You can't get an A (some civilians can but only for very specific sports or for jobs)
To get a B you need a sport shooting licence
To get a C you need a hunting licence or a sport shooting licence
To get a D you need to be above 18 (but you need a valid reason to carry it on you)
AR15 is in B so now that the introduction is done, let's get to it !
1 : Being a Sport shooter
To be a sport shooter you need to register to a shooting range / club approved by the FFTIR ( French Federation of Shooter)
r/ar15 - French Gun Law 101 (How to get an AR-15 in France, 2023)
There you need to pay to be a member, the price depend of the range, mine is about 150€ a year. Some are more expensive, the cheapest I know is 120, the more expensive is 390.
The rent of guns there is usually an extra to pay yearly or each time you ask for one. You cannot keep the gun out of the range.
Once done you will need to learn to shoot, usually you start with 4.5 lead diabolo at 10 meters, then .22LR at 25 meters for pistols and 50 meters for carbine.
r/ar15 - French Gun Law 101 (How to get an AR-15 in France, 2023)
Not all stand have a wide variety of guns, sometimes they can only give you access to air gun (especially smaller ranges). Bigger and more expensive one can have a wide variety of rifles and handguns
Only when you prove that you can stay in target and know the security and parts of the weapon ( MCQ to complete + test at the range) you will get your sport shooting licence.
At this point you can already buy a Type C, so a hunting rifle, including K98, M1903, Winchester M1866 or double barrel shotgun
2 : Asking for the green sheet
So you want a Type B weapon ?
Well this is where the fun begins, you have your licence, nice, so you know your guns basics, know you need to ask the president of the shooting club for the green sheet.
r/ar15 - The Green Sheet
The Green Sheet
It's a favorable opinion where he say that you come regularly the the club, that you know how to handle and store a firearm.
So of course if he do not see you for 5 month and then you ask that you will not get it. The presidents are taking their own responsability so they do not give them to anyone.
Many choose to still apply the old law wich was : 3 shooting session with someone checking your attitude and result on target with 2 month minimum between each session.
That way they can say peacefully that you come regularly and know how to shoot properly.
3 : Asking for the autorizations
Now that you have the Green Sheet wich is usable for 1 year to use for a demand, you need to complete some paperwork
You need to provide the following documents :
ID
Proof of living adress
Proof that you own a safe
Medical certificate
Proof that you were born (don't ask me why)
You shooting licence
The Green Sheet
The document where you ask for the type of weapon
It's the cerfa n°12644, that is where the sub categories comes in :
B1 Handguns not in the other categories
B2a Center fire semi auto rifles with 3 to 11 capacity
B2a bis Center fire semi auto rifles with 3 to 31 capacity
B2b Center fire manual rifles with 11 to 31 capacity
B2c Type C guns but smaller than 22.6 inches rifled
B2d Type C guns but smaller than 22.6 inches smoothbore
B2e Semi auto weapon that looks like an automatic weapon (funny one ey ?)
B2f Smoothbore and rifled pump action but not in 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36 and 410 and less than 5 cartridges
B3 Airsoft or paintball above 20 Joules
B4 Weapons using military rounds
B5 Weapons element ( upper receiver / BCG)
Military rounds are : 7,62 × 39 / 5,56 × 45 (.223) / 5,45 × 39 / 12,7 × 99 / 14,5 × 114
So an AR15 is in B4, and if you want a upper it's a B5
In the document you need to specify how much of each sub categories you ask for
For the first demand you can only ask 6, the next one you can ask for up to 12
12 B type weapon is the maximum, you cannot have more at your name
C type weapon to not have a maximum, but after 20 the police will ask you to come explain them why you need that much, and every 10 more after that.
Once you have all the documents correclty completed you send it to the Préfecture
I guess it's like your gouvernor's office ?
And then you wait for the autorization to arrive, between a two weeks and 6 months (I got mine in 6 days hihihi)
No response is to be considered a refusal.
Reasons of refusal ?
Having commited a crime (murder, rape, smuggling drugs, torture ...)
Being on the national file of people who do not have the right to buy guns ( FINIADA )
Having a behavior that make people think you can be dangerous ...
Being on the FINIADA is easy, doing airsoft or tactical drills can put you on it, going to cqb training in an other country of the Brutalitty Matches for example.
4 : Using the autorizations
Wow you got your autorization ? Congratulation !
Now you have 6 month to use them and buy the guns you want, after that they are expired and you need to do all other again.
Once completed when you bought the gun, they are valid for 5 years, so you will need to ask again every 5 years to keep your weapons
4.1 : Buying ammo
Ammo also have categories ...
But it's easier I promise !
B type ammo The military ones + pistol rounds, remember ? Limited to 1000 at the same time, 2000 max during a year
C type ammo All the others, 22LR, 308, 300BLK, 8x57JS, 30-06 ... Limited to 1000 at the same time
Military rounds still are : 7,62 × 39 / 5,56 × 45 (.223) / 5,45 × 39 / 12,7 × 99 / 14,5 × 114
You need to bring your autorization to the armorer for B type ammo buying, to keep track of how much you did buy. For C type, your licence is enough
But what happens if you use your 2000 ammo ? Well there is no limit on Components, so go buy some brass, powder and a press and reload at home, only a 2kg of powder stock limit and that's it !
4.2 : Buying magazines
Pretty easy, proof that you have a weapon using this magazine (the autorization).
Then you can buy up to 10 mags per weapon.
Technically only the 10 round magazines are OK, putting a 20 ou 30 rounder in the AR outside of a shooting range is an offense.
4.3 : Storage and transport
Type B must be stored in a safe, ammo in a safe, but not the same safe.
There is no such thing as home defence here, if you use a gun on someone that broke into your home, you will need to prove that your life was at risk, and that you had the time to get the gun from the safe, but not the time to call the cops and lock yourself out of danger.
Considering the safe and all, that is a little hard to imagine.
For the transport, in case of control you need your autorization on you, the gun but be in a case, with a device preventing it to be used (either BCG removed or a trigger lock). Ammo stored someplace else, but not in the guncase
The magazines are to be loaded only at the range.
5 : Optics / Suppressor...
Optics : You can buy what you want, but not night vision optics, well you can but it need to be hand held, if you glue it to an helmet or a gun it's illegal
Laser : There is a power limit, 1mW, above it's illegal
Suppressor : It was illegal until 2018, now any hunter or sport shooter can buy anything
6 : Oddity
Just a small compilation of silly things :
.300 BLK is considered a hunting round, like the .308, but the .223 is not.
I can buy 20 K98 with 1000 round with only a shooting licence after a single month but need to wait around 6 month for a 22LR pistol
Weapons that "look like an automatic weapon" is in a higher categorie
The cop that control you are the one to decide if the reason you have a weapon on you is valid or not
Putting a 20 round magazine at home is an offense that can get them take all my guns
So that is basically it, if you have more question like ranges availability, distances, the disciplines we do and [bleep] like that feel free to ask.
I may add some infos later if needed.
Have a nice day !
