The government is seeking to reduce the number of illegal weapons, which according to authorities estimates number around six million
French gun owners are handing in their weapons at special collection points this week of police across the country as part of a campaign to collect unlicensed firearms, often family heirlooms, hidden in attics or forgotten in cupboards.
Gun ownership in France is much more restricted than in the US, for example, and gun crime is relatively rare, but the government is seeking to curb the number of illegal guns, which authorities estimate are about six million.
“They were my father’s and I didn’t know what to do with them. I don’t like guns and since there is a way to get rid of them, there comes a time when one has to get rid of such memorabilia,” says Lionel from a police station in Nice, southern France, where he surrendered his weapons.
Rifles, revolvers, ammunition, even knives and grenades, have already been handed over to 300 collection points across France since the interior ministry’s campaign began on November 25.
Those who surrender the weapons face no penalties. They can either register them or leave them with the police.
Until yesterday, 65,000 weapons had been delivered along with 1.6 million bullets and other projectiles.
The campaign ends tomorrow, Friday, after which the collected weapons will either be donated to museums or destroyed.
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