The French can have guns. A lot of ‘em are enthusiastic hunters. I think they can even have “evil black guns.” Dunno ‘bout handguns, though.
Well....even in the old Soviet Union, vetted citizens could own double barrel shotguns and in many European countries, guns can be `owned’ but not kept at home but in hunting club armories. Heck, I have two Husqvarna shotguns from Sweden, where it’s become so difficult to own most firearms that weary citizens are turning them in to the government which then resells them to foreign buyers, lucky me.
Like the French, the Brits, Germans, & Italians can own certain kinds of guns, but no `ugly guns’ and certainly no handguns.
Being permitted the ownership of firearms is not the issue. The issue is the culture and the legal climate which the culture creates. And American culture generally approves of people arming themselves for their own defense, and the laws generally affirm the individual right of self defense including the use of dealy force. “Stand your ground” laws have been made controversial by recent events, but they’re not going away. Concealed carry permits are available in a majority of states.
Not so in the Eurozone, where the use of deadly force in self defense is usually prosecuted and society looks down on gun wielding citizens as dangerous `cowboys’ (a disparaging term over there). They prefer a slavish reliance on police authority.
If muzzies in France had reason to fear that the Jews they were stalking were armed and able to defend themselves, then the situation might at least be no worse there than here.