School shooting in Grasse, France

[Flightmare]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-franc ... SKBN16N1LI

At least three people were injured after a shooting at a high school in the small southern French town of Grasse, and a 17-year old student carrying a rifle, handguns and grenades was arrested, the interior ministry and police sources added.

I was under the impression that such items were not available to the general public in France.

[Jusme]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-franc ... SKBN16N1LI

At least three people were injured after a shooting at a high school in the small southern French town of Grasse, and a 17-year old student carrying a rifle, handguns and grenades was arrested, the interior ministry and police sources added.

I was under the impression that such items were not available to the general public in France.

They seem to know that the teenager watched "American Style" mass shooting videos (whatever those are), but not have any info on the guns, that are almost impossible to get. The French authorities are trying to blame everything except the fact that despite strict gun control, guns are still available, and that gun free zones only protect those who want to shoot unarmed people. Not to mention that the shooter is a criminal, just shift the blame elsewhere.

[The Annoyed Man]

I not that the article is not very specific. "A rifle, handguns, and grenades" doesn't really tell us much.

I have lived in France for extended periods, and hold dual citizenship. I'm by no means an expert on French gun laws, but I can tell you what I observed......

LEGAL SOURCING:
Yes, France has fairly strict gun control laws. But..... it is not at all uncommon for farmers to have long guns - mostly long-barreled shotguns, but some "traditional" hunting rifles, mostly bolt action. Those guns that I saw were seldom used for sporting purposes, but more for protection of crops and/or livestock. I never saw a Frenchman confess to owning a handgun. I am sure that there are Frenchmen who go through whatever the licensing procedure is to get one, but they are almost certainly few and far between.

"OFF-THE-BOOKS" SOURCING:
Remember that half of France was a WW1 battlefield, and France was an occupied nation in WW2, over a large part of which the combat between allies and occupiers raged. There is plenty of film footage of things like the liberation of Paris in which the French Resistance - all civilians - are shown carrying and using everything from revolvers and goose-guns to captured German SMGs and Mausers.......not to mention FP-45 "Liberators", and any other weapons AND explosives distributed to the Maquis by the OSS. I think it is a very safe bet that a fair number of those various kinds of weapons and explosive devices found their way into private ownership, and were deliberately kept secret from the authorities. Certainly those items are not bandied about, but the WW2 generation of French, many of whom remembered also the 1st world war, probably decided that it would not do to be caught disarmed again, and those guns and grenades have been squirreled away against the day they might be needed again.

Is it possible that this kid found his great grandad's Mauser and a couple of old Model 1935 pistols, and some left over Mk II grenades? It seems to me that these would be a lot easier to obtain. The only alternative that makes sense, is that this kid was maybe radicalized, and perhaps through a terrorism network of some kind was supplied with weapons that were smuggled into the country.......although the French authorities are discounting a terrorism motivation.

[The Annoyed Man]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... chool.html

The gunman, armed with two revolvers, a hunting rifle and a backpack containing fake grenades, was arrested after the headteacher and three students were injured.

I was mostly correct in my previous post. I didn't account for fake grenades.........

[ScottDLS]

I was going to predict fake grenades. It seems that real "hand" grenades are pretty rare...and not particularly shelf stable. Most militaries seem to have moved to rocket propelled or launched grenades, which are significantly more practical than hand thrown ones.