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I have no idea how many people own handguns in France. As I’ve clearly stated, on this and other threads, I hunt and shoot competition Trap, so have not been involved in the need for a handgun. I do know Frenchmen who own handguns....but am not familiar with the rules regarding same.

The article CREATES the WRONG IMPRESSION by flat out stating “France bans most guns,” “France outlaws most guns,” ...”Merah’s arsenal included an AK47, an Uzi, a Sten submachine gun, A SHOTGUN, and several pistols...ALL ILLEGAL (emphasis mine),”in a lawful country WITH FEW LEGAL GUNS,”.....

Many people, on this and other blogs, have the impression that France is gun-free. This is absolutely NOT the CASE. There are over thirty guns for every hundred people in France, which is a higher number than even our neighbor Canada and places the French in league with the highest number of guns of countries of the world of which the USA is number 1. France is listed as #5 to #11 depending on which report one uses. I would like to see ACCURATE reports which include types of guns, not just blanket statements which are far from the truth. England, for example is number 82 or lower in the same listings. Also in England, one cannot carry a pocket knife with a blade 3 inches long. In France almost all men carry a pocketknife with a blade three inches or longer.
My statement was factual. France does not ban guns. France bans certain types of guns or requires registration of certain other types .Not all guns need to be registered.
Shotguns are certainly NOT illegal!
If you insist that HANDGUN ownership is the only type of gun ownership that counts, you are in a whole different ballgame.