France Makes Push to Collect Heirloom Weapons

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sign216

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I’ll have to dig, but I saw a post on an HK forum by a Frenchman who that said it’s much more than “asking”. The weapons ( have to be turned in for destruction or they have to pay (It was something like $300) to have them permanently disabled.

This is a sweeping anti gun move by French authorities…maybe they know what’s coming next!
 
Here’s the post by an actual “victim”:

Here in France it was legal for decades to buy ex-military and ex-police weapons that had been transformed to semi-auto. Then, several years ago, the French government changed the law making it illegal to buy or sell ex-full auto weapons, but those of us who bought them before the cut-off date were told that we would be able to keep them. Jump forward a few years and lo and behold the government changed its mind and told everyone who legally owned an ex-full weapon that we would have to pay $350 per gun to have it transformed into a paperweight, or give it to the government to be destroyed. To add insult to injury, in spite of the fact that French law states that the government can't take someone's private property without a just compensation, we were informed that there would be no compensation.

Note that these are semi autos that were converted from full auto.
 
As an American, I will always be thankful for the fact that France, helped us to win our independence.

With that said, I can only hope that the French people refuse to let this happen.

People forget that they are the ones who control the government. The French have overthrown their own government before. Maybe it's time to shake the tree of liberty again?
 
As an American, I will always be thankful for the fact that France, helped us to win our independence.

With that said, I can only hope that the French people refuse to let this happen.

People forget that they are the ones who control the government. The French have overthrown their own government before. Maybe it's time to shake the tree of liberty again?
With as many regular protests the French are known for which turn into tire fires and the like, I have faith in the people. The memory of World War Two is indelible to even the young who have paid attention to history. French died on their knees for what they possess now.
Here in the states, we are only getting the state approved headlines. We are not hearing about the citizens opinion on the France gun grab and that is very telling.
 
Abhorrent from a personal liberty POV but interesting to speculate about. A continent in chaos for 6 years and flooded with weapons. The number of completely undocumented Stens and Schmeissers and MAS 38’s in French attics is certainly more than zero. Not hard to imagine “the gun” being a multi-generation family secret.

Of course, the same is true in this country. Send millions of young men out into a world at war, with the greatest logistics system the world had ever seen, and you just know that some pretty remarkable stuff (not necessarily weapons) must have made it’s way back here.
 
I'll bet compliance will be low. The general rule in Europe is the farther south and east you go, the more the distrust of government. The French have always been known to have an ornery streak.
One thing to also take into consideration is that France has been home to a lot of Syrian refugees. I’m not throwing shade on Syrians in any way, but the typical civilian response is to clutch their guns a little tighter when any foreigners move to town. This tells me that compliance will be low across the population.
 
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Abhorrent from a personal liberty POV but interesting to speculate about. A continent in chaos for 6 years and flooded with weapons. The number of completely undocumented Stens and Schmeissers and MAS 38’s in French attics is certainly more than zero. Not hard to imagine “the gun” being a multi-generation family secret.
I've posted this picture before. This is a pile of weapons surrendered to the government by Greek guerillas at the end of WW2. The point is, these were not their best guns, which they kept. If France is at all like Greece, there are
probably hundreds of thousands of leftover WW2 weapons in French attics.

Surrendered weapons.jpg
 
Even German police estimate that there are many thousands of undeclared/unregistered private guns hidden by German citizens..

It's very doubtful that the French follow regulations as 'automatically' as Germans tend to do, therefore there must be many more undeclared guns in France.

In France Some of today’s guns were probably airdropped to the Resistance in WW2.
 
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From AP News: France is making a push to collect heirloom weapons that are lying around, unregistered, unknown, esp the WW2 guns. Photo shows a Luger and a Broomhandle Mauser pistol, turned in for destruction. French authorities stating "guns might be used to commit domestic violence, so please turn them in." An obvious plea to the widows holding their deceased husbands' goods.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-12-01/france-makes-push-to-collect-heirloom-weapons

One day with Biden and Macron goes home pushing for gun control.
 
The memory of World War Two is indelible to even the young who have paid attention to history.

This is true. I was in France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. There is still a definite memory of the occupation and a gratefulness for liberation. I saw American and British flags everywhere-and not just on tourist shops and hotels trying to lure in visitors to spend their money, but on homes and businesses. (One example was a steel building off the highway that housed a construction company.)

At Point du Hoc, I saw elementary-aged kids approach a vet in a wheelchair and thank him for saving their country. (Possible that adults put them up to it, bet still, someone remembers.) His response to the kids was "take care of our graves when we're gone."

In Bayeux, the names of every person from that town taken by the Nazis to concentration camps are inscribed in stone on the church walls.

But gun control has been a part of France and of Europe for a long time. I often saw anti-gun propaganda posters in Paris and in Luxembourg. I suspect that, as the elders pass on, the younger generations will not be so inclined to hang onto their grandparents' illegal guns. (I suspect that this is true of the United States as well.) My impression is that there is a general feeling of "That could never happen again."
 
As an American, I will always be thankful for the fact that France, helped us to win our independence.

With that said, I can only hope that the French people refuse to let this happen.

People forget that they are the ones who control the government. The French have overthrown their own government before. Maybe it's time to shake the tree of liberty again?

France had many reasons for "helped us to win our independence". And pretty far down the list was a desire to help americans be free.
 
If France is at all like Greece, there are probably hundreds of thousands of leftover WW2 weapons in French attics.
Back when I was involved in WFSA international committees, I remember seeing documentation that the estimated combined number of firearms that have gone "missing" in Germany and France in late 1960's and early 1970's when gun registration was widely implemented, exceed 10.000.000. That's a metric shedload of hardware that's still out there and going nowhere anytime soon.

In Finland this has always been a bit of a phenomenon, dating back to late 40's when there was a real risk of soviet occupation after WW2. The most impressive stash I've been called to assess has included a Pak 38 anti-tank gun, crates of Panzerfausts, MG42:s and assorted infantry rifles of the era and a very decent supply of ammunition. That's just one of many, buried behind old ploughs, tractors and other farm equipment in a barn. This was found in 2010's after the elderly owner of the barn passed away.

"Official" truth about undocumented firearms doesn't always reflect the reality in Europe, not necessarily at all.
 
I suspect that, as the elders pass on, the younger generations will not be so inclined to hang onto their grandparents' illegal guns. (I suspect that this is true of the United States as well.) My impression is that there is a general feeling of "That could never happen again."

They should ask the people in Ukraine how they feel about that.
 
Even German police estimate that there are many thousands of undeclared/unregistered private guns hidden by German citizens..

It's very doubtful that the French follow regulations as 'automatically' as Germans tend to do, therefore there must be many more undeclared guns in France.

Some of them were probably airdropped to the Resistance in WW2.
Absolutely. The Greek police admit that there are over 250,000 Kalashnikovs circulating illegally in the country (these were smuggled in from Albania after the fall of the Hoxha regime there). The number of WW2 holdovers has to be many more. And also remember that guns continued to be pumped into Greece during the 1946-49 Civil War. These are still there in people's attics and closets.
 
Back when I was involved in WFSA international committees, I remember seeing documentation that the estimated combined number of firearms that have gone "missing" in Germany and France in late 1960's and early 1970's when gun registration was widely implemented, exceed 10.000.000. That's a metric shedload of hardware that's still out there and going nowhere anytime soon.

In Finland this has always been a bit of a phenomenon, dating back to late 40's when there was a real risk of soviet occupation after WW2. The most impressive stash I've been called to assess has included a Pak 38 anti-tank gun, crates of Panzerfausts, MG42:s and assorted infantry rifles of the era and a very decent supply of ammunition. That's just one of many, buried behind old ploughs, tractors and other farm equipment in a barn. This was found in 2010's after the elderly owner of the barn passed away.

"Official" truth about undocumented firearms doesn't always reflect the reality in Europe, not necessarily at all.

Absolutely. The Greek police admit that there are over 250,000 Kalashnikovs circulating illegally in the country (these were smuggled in from Albania after the fall of the Hoxha regime there). The number of WW2 holdovers has to be many more. And also remember that guns continued to be pumped into Greece during the 1946-49 Civil War. These are still there in people's attics and closets.

I don't doubt any of this for a second. However practice with anything is a bit helpful. Does not matter if you have an AT gun tucked away if you have no idea how to address issues should they arrise.
 
Another issue is corrosion after decades of storage.

And most homes in those countries never had true air conditioning- just open windows to keep rooms “ gelüftet“ (aired), therefore gesund/ healthy.
 
I don't doubt any of this for a second. However practice with anything is a bit helpful. Does not matter if you have an AT gun tucked away if you have no idea how to address issues should they arrise.
You're right about that. That's probably why shooting "Civil Guard licensed" (an euphemism for unlicensed/unregistered/illegal) SMG:s and the like is pretty common at sandpits and rural shooting ranges. Not quite the national sport it was back in the 80's but piles of several hundreds of 9mm shell casings are still a common sight at 100m rifle ranges and nobody bats an eye.

On the other hand, in a country where approximately two thirds of adult male population is military trained and rehearsed in reserve anyway, lack of practise isn't exactly a problem. In central and southern Europe it might be.
 
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