What is the process like for getting a gun in your country?
France is apparently one of the country where people own the most guns per resident in Europe. But guns are illegal unless you have a permit or your an officer of the law.
Since 2013, all guns must be registered at the "prefecture" (administration office).
Lots of people who own guns have a "hunting license" that allows you to carry a gun if you are registered as "hunter". You can also carry a gun if you have a permit and after 6 months spent practicing within a "club de tir" (an organization where you can learn to shoot).
There are also a lot of weapons from WWI and WWII that are still sitting in people's attics, usually from their grandparents or great-grandparents. They also have to be registered, even if apparently it's not always done.
How long does it take on average to obtain a gun?
You have to train at a shooting range for 6 months before the club gives you an authorization.
As for having a "permis de chasse" (hunting permit"), it takes a couple of months. You have to take an exam, and there's one about every two months.
What types of guns are legal?
There are 4 categories of weapons in France (A, B, C, D).
D: Historic guns that don't work (or aren't supposed to)
C: Hunting guns
B: 9mm, semi-automatic rifle — you have to be a registered professional shooter to have one
A: War weapons or weapons of mass destruction — completely forbidden
B, C and D have to be "kept locked" in a safe or be disabled when not used.
What do you think about President Trump's proposal to arm more teachers and trained professionals in schools?
From our point of view, it's an aberration. Nobody's allowed to carry a gun freely so it's not even a possibility.
For example, a lot of people don't feel at ease when they see military people walking down the street carrying riffles, they are in the military — imagine what it would be for civilians. When I see images of normal American citizens carrying their guns in public it gives me goosebumps. It is so abnormal for us.
The vast majority here agrees there's a link between gun ownership and the number of mass shootings in the US, it's not really a matter of opinion, it's more viewed as a fact — maybe because there is so little pro-gun lobbying here.
The only party pro-gun ownership is the Front National, the extreme right party.
Does the average person in your area fear the possibility of being the victim of gunfire?
Not gunfire specifically. But since the 2015 Paris terror attacks, people fear terrorist attacks a lot more than before. But even back in 2015, we didn't have a "great debate" about gun ownership legalization. The subject has just never reached the national political debate sphere to the extent it has in the US.
— Marie Turcan, Business Insider France