To buy a firearm in France, in line with the European Firearms Directive, a hunting license or a shooting sport license is necessary depending on the type, function and magazine capacity of the weapon.

In 1563, King Charles IX of France made an address to the Rouen parliament about forbidding firearms in which he made the following statement:

Gun ownership was restricted until the Farcy law (Loi Farcy) of 1885, which liberalized gun ownership and production. This regime continued until 1939, when weapons were divided into categories and ownership of military caliber weapons was strictly regulated, almost prohibited. Political instability after WWII led to further regulation.

As of September 2015, classification has been simplified to 4 categories:^[2]

• Category A:
  • Category A1: Firearms disguised as another object, firearms with fully automatic fire capacities, firearms of a caliber greater than 20mm, handgun magazines with a capacity greater than 20 rounds, and rifle or shotgun magazines with a capacity greater than 31 rounds. There is an exception for magazines owned by IPSC (TSV in French) shooters with a certificate from the shooting range where they are registered.
  • Category A2: Military materiel, materiel for transportation, or weapons used for combat.
  • Category A11: Semi-automatic rifles shorter than 60 cm with the stock detached or folded.
  • Category A12: Rifles converted from automatic to semi-automatic.
• Category B:
  • Category B1: Handguns with a capacity of 20 rounds or fewer.
  • Category B2: Manually operated long guns with a capacity between 11 and 31 rounds, semi-automatic long guns with a capacity between 3 and 31 rounds and smooth bore pump-action shotguns.
  • Category B4: Any firearm chambered in the following calibers: 7.62×39mm; 5.56×45mm NATO; 5.45×39mm; .50 BMG; 14.5×114mm.
  • Category B5: Any registered parts of a Category B firearm.
  • Category B6, B7, B8: Specific weapons for riots and crowd control.
• Category C: Generally-accepted hunting weapons in France: manual operation long guns with a capacity of 11 rounds or fewer, and semi-automatic long guns with a capacity of 3 rounds or fewer. Pump-action rifled shotguns with a capacity of 5 rounds or fewer are within Category C, as long as they have fixed stocks, a fixed capacity of 4+1 or less, a barrel length 60 cm or greater and an overall length over 80 cm. Manually-operated rifles in any caliber must have a barrel length of 45 cm or greater to be a Category C weapon. All shotguns must have a barrel length of 60 cm or greater, have fixed stocks, fixed magazines of 2+1 and an overall length greater than 80 cm to be allowed for hunting.^[3]
• Category D: Pepper spray, air guns, non-convertible guns designed to fire blanks, gas, or signal ammunition, stun batons, black powder guns (non-metallic cartridge), deactivated guns, guns with a patent older than January 1st, 1900, and weapons that fire projectiles in a non-pyrotechnic manner with a muzzle energy between 2 and 20 joules (e.g. airsoft guns, paintball guns, etc.). Exceptions include all metallic, smokeless-powder firearms made before 1900.^[4]

Any handgun ammunition is classified as Category B, for example, someone who owns a lever-action carbine in Category C chambered for .357 magnum needs to have a B-categorized weapon in order to buy .357 magnum ammunition.

Some exceptions exist for calibers like in Category C-6°.

• Category B: Quota of 2000 rounds per year and a maximum of 1000 in stock; an ID card or resident card and a gun ownership authorization are required.
  • 7.62 Soviet (7.62×39mm)
  • .223 Remington (5.56×45mm NATO)
  • 5.45×39mm Russian
  • .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO)
  • .57 calibre (14.5×114mm)
• Category C-6°: A maximum of 1000 in stock; an ID card or resident card and a gun ownership authorization are required.
  • .25-20 Winchester (6.35×34mmR)
  • .32-20 Winchester (8×33mm Winchester)
  • .38-40 Winchester (10.1×33mm Winchester)
  • .44-40 Winchester
  • .44 Magnum
  • .45 Colt
• Category C-7°: A maximum of 1000 in stock; an ID card or resident card and a hunting license or shooting sport license and a gun ownership authorization are required.
  • 7.5×54mm MAS
  • 7.5×55mm Swiss
  • .30 M1 (7.62×33mm)
  • 7.62×51mm NATO
  • .308 Winchester
  • 8mm Mauser (7.92×57mm)
  • 7.62×54mmR or 7.62×54mm Mosin Nagant
  • .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm)
  • .303 British (7.7×56mmR)
• Category C-8°: An ID card or resident card plus a hunting license or a shooting sport license are required.
  • Other rifle ammunition (e.g. 7×64mm, 9.3×62mm, etc.)
• Category D: An ID card or resident card is required for purchase and the buyer must be at least 18 years old, with the exception of sportive shooters over the age of 12, for whom a written parental authorization must be written.

• Category A and B: Firearms, ammunition, and registered firearms parts have to be stored in a gun safe or a safe room.
• Category C: Firearms can be stored (unloaded) in a safe or in another location that is not easy to access (e.g. by using a barrel lock or having them attached to a wall). Ammunition must be stored separately from the weapon, even in a safe.
• Category D: No storage restriction.

• Category A11 and A12 firearms are unavailable for purchase since August 1st, 2018, whereas beforehand they held the same requirements as Category B. As of November 1st, 2022, all weapons classed as Category A11 and A12 are being seized or destroyed by the French government without compensation to the owners.
• Category B requires the owner to be older than 18, be affiliated with a shooting range for at least 12 months, have attended at least 3 shooting sessions with an instructor within a span of 3 months, and have a medical certificate. Proof of the purchase of a safe is mandatory. The shooter will then receive authorization for 6 months to purchase Category B firearms (and therefore Category C firearms since they are affiliated with a shooting range). The category B authorization is valid for 5 years and must be renewed. Only a maximum of 12 Category B firearms, 10 magazines for a given weapon, and 1000 rounds per weapon can be obtained per person. If the firearms owner fails to renew their hunting or shooting sport license, they will then have 6 months to get rid of all their Category B firearms and ammunition.
• Category C requires the owner to be older than 18 and have a valid hunting, shooting, or clay pigeon license.
• Category D requires the owner to be older than 18.

No civilian may carry any weapons in a public place. A special form allows a civilian to apply for a 1-year carry license, which allows them to carry a handgun and a maximum of 50 rounds if they are "exposed to exceptional risks to their life". In practice, these licenses are only issued to politicians.

Exceptions exist for children and teenagers with a shooting or clay pigeon license and parental approval. A child aged between 9 and 12 can own D categorized weapon that shoot projectiles in a non-pyrotechnic way between 2 and 20 joules. Individuals between the ages of 12 and 16 can own C and D-categorized weapons. They can also own one-shot, rimfire Category B firearms if they participate in international shooting competitions (only with a shooting sport license).

Individuals between the ages of 16 and 18 who have a shooting, hunting, or clay pigeon license can own C and D-categorized weapons. They can also own Category B firearms if they participate in international shooting competitions (only with a shooting sport license).

Carrying a gun is defined as having a gun by one's side in a public place ready to use. Transporting a gun is defined as having an unloaded, locked or disassembled gun and having a legitimate reason for doing so in a public place. Some legitimate reasons to transport a firearm are activities such as hunting, sports shooting, collecting, or clay pigeon shooting. Personal defense, however, does not qualify as a legitimate reason. Hunting, collector, and clay pigeon licenses only allow the transportation of D- and C-categorized weapons. A shooting sport license allows transportation of all categories of weapons. Since the November 2015 Paris attacks, police officers are allowed to carry their service firearms while off duty.

Brandishing a firearm in public can result in charges for public disorder.