Did French police not have guns? Or were they meter readers of some sort?

[2aguy]

there are reports that 3 police officers arrived at the scene of the mass shooting in France, and then had to flee because they did not have guns....is this true?

 

[Katzndogz]

Look it up.

The police force in France is really two forces. There is the municipal police which give traffic tickets and oversee regulatory violations. They are not armed at all. Then there are the gendarmes which are quasi military and are heavily armed.

 

[2aguy]

Look it up.

The police force in France is really two forces. There is the municipal police which give traffic tickets and oversee regulatory violations. They are not armed at all. Then there are the gendarmes which are quasi military and are heavily armed.

Much like we have here with Meter Maids?

So....were these guys traffic enforcement?

 

[Derideo_Te]

Weapons[edit]

SP 2022, the present standard issued sidearm of French police officers.
In 1935, the French police used a variety of side arms, both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, notably comprising the MAS 1873, the MAS 1892, the FN M1900, Ruby pistols, and a variety of privately purchased weapons.

Immediately after the Second World War, a variety of military side arms was used, often captured weapons provided by the Army or French-produced German-designed weapons, such as the Mauser HSc or the Walther P38 for sidearms, and the Karabiner 98k rifle.

In 1951, a standardisation was performed on the RR 51 pistol[5] in 7.65mm, and on the MAS-38 and MAT-49 for sub-machine guns. From 1953, in the context of heightening violence of the Algeria War, CRS units were upgraded to the 9mmMAC Mle 1950

In the early 1960x, large-caliber revolvers were introduced, culminating with the introduction of the Manurhin MR 73 and the Ruger SP-101. In the 80s, a process to standardize revolvers was initiated. The 1970s also saw the introduction of assault rifles[clarification needed] (such as the SIG SG 543) to fend off heavily armed organised crime and terrorism.

In the 2000s, the police started switching to semi-automatic pistols and to the 9mm parabellum cartridge. For some years, the standard sidearm in the National Police and the Gendarmerie Nationale was the PAMAS G1, which was French licensed and made. In 2003 both agencies made the biggest small arms contract since the Second World War[6] for about 250,000 SIG SIG Sauer Pro SP 2022s, a custom-tailored variant of the SIG Pro, replacing the PAMAS-G1 and several other pistols in service. The weapons are planned to stay in service until the year 2022, hence the weapon name.

National Police France - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia