It was recently anounced that France has abandoned their service rifle, the FAMAS, in favor of a foreign rifle, a SIG, I think. I'll have to paint a black ring around my key ring fob, which used to be chrome plated but has been carried for many years.

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You need a new FOB!
It's not that long to Christmas.
Keep Santa Claus in the loop!

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ooops, i saw this thread title expecting a joke like the various french tank jokes.
my bad

They've gone for the H&K 416 as the FAMAS replacement.

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Release the Kraken

It's actually the same rifle, it just has the boomerang bayonet modification--------can't be dropped or thrown away.
olcop

I stand corrected.

Well, unlike the real Cyrano, at least you're still standing.

He hasn't been standing in quite a while. I just looked him up in my Larousse: b. 1616, d. 1655.

Maybe if the sporting clause gets thrown out we can get some of these back in!

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Makes more sense to issue the latest track shoes.

I like the French. I don't agree with disparaging them.

And they are fighting terrorism with courage and ingenuity, at home and abroad. Good partners in the war on terror, for example in Africa, although they are low key about it.

Thank you! People seem to forget their contribution to the formation of the USA and that little gift they sent which stands today at Liberty Island in NY harbor.

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Remember that much of the problem we have with borders and such in the Middle East is a direct result of tantrums from the French at the close of WWI.

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The English did their fair share too! Then later we backed one side and not the other which made the others angry. I know I'm being vague, I'm trying to keep it in historical perspective and not political

French colonies of Lebanon, Syria, parts of Israel, parts of Turkey, Yemen, parts of Iraq.

English colonies of Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Transjordan, Bahrain, Pakistan

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Based on 1940, I would think that the prime requirement for a French battle rifle, except the foreign legion, would be to survive being dropped and having ammunition compatible with enemy munitions after being acquired. I assume the purpose of the bayonet is to have a point to attach white flags?

They are BOTH fighting AND enabling it.

They allow vast swaths of their cities to become "no-go" zones, then (after the fact) shoot the ones who go "juramentado".

It's the equivalent of busing the Wehrmacht and SS in so that you can fight them... after having conceded them sanctuary, the high ground and the initiative.

France may be fighting, however ineffectively. They're definitely NOT "winning".

Of course, neither are the Brits who are only a couple of paces behind them in the race to auto-genocide by proxy.

Don't forget too, British foreign policy of the time, which resembles nothing so much as the plot of "The Producers".

Any time you promise more than two parties 50% or more of something, there's going to be trouble.

They don't call it "The Peace to End all Peace" for nothing.

Cmort, I concede you are a smart fellow, well read, but what you have written above is, um, poppycock.

"Vast swaths of their cities ... 'no go zones' ... juramentado..."

Say, I met some aliens from Mars yesterday. They had margaritas, but I enjoyed the bunny rabbit.

Cheers!

Does it have a bungie instead of a sling? So that, when you throw it down, it will bounce back into your hands?

For those who like to poke fun at the French military, here a few bothersome facts.

1) In 1940 the French government and senior army leadership made the classic mistake of attempting to fight the previous war. The French High Command set themselves up in a chateau that didn't even have a land line (!) and waited for the Wehrmacht to arrive at the Maginot Line and say "Oh, dear" in German. The Germans did not oblige and proceeded to fight using tactics and command and control that became the standard for even our modern armed forces. I have little doubt about the backbone of the average French soldier.

2) The French invented smokeless powder. Our hobby would be a lot harder without it.

3) While the French don't always produce the prettiest guns, they have been very innovative in firearms technology. The MAS 44, 49 and 49/56 semiautomatic rifles have mechanisms that make an AK look overly complex.

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That's all true, but happened a LONG time ago.....

Actually, I believe that Weygand's headquarters DID have landlines.

What it lacked was a SINGLE two way radio... an interesting choice given the REPEATED issues caused by cut landlines during the previous war.

The decision to rely so heavily on the Maginot line was a predictably foolish one, as the BETTER Belgian fortresses had been obliterated by German heavy guns in the early stages of World War ONE. Given the ease with which the Germans neutralized Eban Emael in the Second World War, even had the Germans been dumb enough to confront the Line, it wouldn't have survived long.

What doomed the French in 1940 were:

1. UTTER incompetence at the highest levels of command
2. Flawed procurement policies marked by vacillation and miserly defense budgets that misused what money there was.
3. Reacting to 1914's failed strategy of mindless attack with an equally failed policy of mindless inertia and passivity.

A lot of a couple of kinds of mediocre aircraft are always better than a few each of a lot of different kinds of mediocre aircraft. Large numbers of French aircraft never got into action for want of engines, guns, instruments, etc. The French would have been better off with just MS-406s than MS-406s, De-520s, MB-510s, Arsenals, etc., etc., etc. Only the Dewotines came anywhere near to being the equal of the Me-109, and there were NEVER anything close to a useful number of them.

The French military was task organized for disaster in 1940 and they achieved it in spades.

Yep. The avg French soldier joined either the Brits or the resistance.

The 59/46. Used DI before Stoner made it popular. Along with being as tough and rugged as an AK

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Do their field rations include French Toast? It would help to have something worth fighting for!

Ivan

I agree that WW2 did make France look bad as far as their political choices put them in a weird and tight position.Sure did make them look bad!.But if you look at the history of firearms and how the armies in the world would arm themselves,you will have to recognize that France has always been in the first seats of small arm technology development and that,since the 15th century.

After WW2 and after they had time to fall back on their feet,they regained part of that reputation(of course,the argumentation between USA and Soviet Union took the big part on the screenplay leaving England,Germany and France playing the second roles).

While I admit that my lineage is French,I also affirm that I'm more interested in the firearm developments of english speaking people than french...but after all,again as history has showed us,the 2 are closely interlinked.
Qc

[QUOTE=Ivan the Butcher;139625257]Do their field rations include French Toast? It would help to have something worth fighting for!

Ivan[/QUOTE
In the 18th and part of the 19th century,the contract of english soldiers and sailors was mentioning the daily ratio of rum.In many combat ''mémoires'',it is mentionned that the soldiers were being''doubled rationed before the fight''.They were not talking about candybars!
Having booze was accepted practice then.There's lots of reports about Soviets in WW2 running up against german positions while being complitely ''saturated''with vodka.
I for one know that I would have needed it to run up against a MG42 spewing lead at 20rds/second(1200rpm).

Qc

Even Famas parts kits would be cool.

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I'm not a bullpup guy, but the FAMAS is so damn ugly it's awesome. I foolishly passed on one years ago for $7500, now they are bringing around $20k.

I have no quarrel with French gunpowder chemists and 19th century firearms designers. It is simply the elan of the French army in 1940 that I question.

As was said of the British Army during WWI, "Lions led by donkeys."

Although in the case of France in 1940, it might better be stated as "lions led by jackasses of suspect motivation".

By end of 1945 there were 1.2 million French soldiers fighting in Germany.

The over simplification of the French defeat does a great disservice to those who fought and died

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That French MAS 49/56 Commando rifle in 7.5mm(30 cal) is one awesome little rifle. She's a refurbed in '56, m49. Thus m49/56. She's a purdy little rifle but she's meaner than a junk yard dog.

I should never have gotten rid of mine. Traded it for a Ruger M77 3006 hunting rifle. I almost never hunt, don't have time to and haven't taken the Ruger to shoot in a few years!

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What I'd like to know is why if you tell a Polish joke you're a racist, but if you disparage the French, you're probably a late night comedian? (Disclaimer: I'm of French Canadian decent.)

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I believe many individual French Army units fought well against the Germans in 1940. That their grand strategy (both military and political) fell flat would be a understatement! The evacuation of Dunkirk by 300,000 Allied troops was possible not only because of the Royal Navy, RAF, and civilian shipping, but also because of stubborn resistance from battered French infantry determined to make the Nazis pay more for their eventual victory.
I think the French have been decent partners with us, in the War on Terror. When NATO Art.5 was activated after 9/11, France sent combat troops to Afghanistan and currently is fighting a pretty much unpublicized war on Islamic terrorists in Sub-Saharan Africa.Having lost their independence from 1940 to 1944, it is easy to see that they are as committed as anyone to the defense of western democracy.