Thinking about overnighting in Paris en route to Cameroun. Stay in a swanky hotel, eat a good meal, drink a bottle or two of grape juice, etc.

Traveling with guns, of course.

Has anyone done this and what are the logistical challenges when clearing sporting arms in Paris?

Thanks,

Will: I have stayed in the CDG airport with my firearms. I traveled on Air France from New York and had Gracy Travel obtain all of the relevant permits for flying on AF with firearms and ammo. After dis-embarking, I picked up my firearms with the rest of my baggage and proceeded to the Sheraton hotel which was in the airport itself. Guns stayed in our room locked in their TuffPak while we toured Paris the next day. We then flew to Joburg the following day. I, for one, would definitely use a travel agency/service without question.

Will,

Gun are not a big deal in Paris. Like Vaughn says get a travel agent that knows about traveling with guns and follow their instructions. You literally as far as I could tell when I was there walk right out onto the street with your guns with no hassle.

Mark

Not so easy anymore. I just had a client try and do this and he could not find an answer, despite working with the well known American travel agents who cater to hunters! Things have changed since the last terrorist problems in France!

Arjun

If travel agents(like Gracy, Steve Turner, Kathi, etc) don't know then who would? I would put my trust first in a seasoned travel agent. That's their job to know.

quote:

Thinking about overnighting in Paris en route to Cameroun.

Sounds like LDE hunt with Mr. Labat is in the works.
As always, best wishes to the 2 of you.
Please tell your diva bride I said hello.

Will: Whatever you do in Paris, after you've picked up your firearms, DO NOT SPEAK GERMAN !! When Parisians hear a guy with firearms speaking German, they have a tendency to surrender en masse. Also, don't say "War Eagles" too loudly- same result- mass surrenders.

Will,
Have a great hunt, and if this hunt is with Thierry, tell the bum "hi" from me.
Cheers,
Jim

From reading various posts on this forum it always seemed that transiting France with firearms was no problem.

Based on Arjun's comment perhaps it is a problem now. Does anyone have any concrete info?

On a lighter note:

Question: Why are there so many trees along the roads in France?

Answer: The German Army does not like marching in the sun.

No problem to transit, The ISSUE is stopping over in France, no one seems to know what needs to be done with your guns!

Arjun

There is a service at Charles de Gaulle terminal 2 (which is where I assume you will land/depart) where you can store luggage. Here is their web site:

http://www.bagagesdumonde.com/en/left-luggage/offer

Under the FAQ concerning what kind of luggage can be stored I got the impression that if the luggage can be checked-in onto a plane than it can be stored there. Another interesting aspect of this is that you can leave heavy winter clothing there in a bag, relieving you of taking overcoats and other bulky cold weather clothing to Burkina Faso, Cameroun or CAR and then pick it up when you need it (assuming you have time between flights).

With respect to hotels, you should check ahead with them. Some have secure lock-up and accept rifles, others don't.

Obviously, you'll need to ensure before going that your airline has you on record, for every leg of the trip, as checking in BOTH rifles and ammunition, which are in fact two different authorizations on Air France for instance.

In the past I have never had a problem, either coming or going, with rifles and all my air travel for safaris originates or ends in Paris. But rules do change and I haven't done it for about 18 months.

Arjun is the man who would know

quote:

Originally posted by reddy375:
No problem to transit, The ISSUE is stopping over in France, no one seems to know what needs to be done with your guns!

Arjun

I hunt in France at lease once a year and I was there a month ago. France has always had no restriction on travelling with sporting firearms, at no point have I been stopped or had them checked. When staying in hotels I leave the guns and ammo in their locked cases.

I would suggest a couple of nights in Paris as it is well worth visiting.

Steve Turner did not recomend a stop-over in Paris. Transit OK. I always like to stay for a day or two in the transit city, so I will go to Istanbul for a Burkina hunt in Jan 2016. Arjun says Paris in hard now because of the terrorist shooting last spring. He travels to West Africa often.

Will, you're back! Good luck in Cameroon.

biebs doesn't have to worry about traveling with guns - he uses blasers

I love Paris, but beware CDG is notorious for losing luggage and thefts.

FWIW I really like (staying in) the St. Germain section of Paris. Enjoy!

quote:

Originally posted by Cumbrian:
I hunt in France at lease once a year and I was there a month ago. France has always had no restriction on travelling with sporting firearms, at no point have I been stopped or had them checked. When staying in hotels I leave the guns and ammo in their locked cases.

I would suggest a couple of nights in Paris as it is well worth visiting.

OK, here we have someone who has just been to France with a firearm and had no problem whatsoever it seems (and he wasn't just in transit). On the other hand a whole bunch of posts saying to avoid it, it's "hard" etc without a shred of evidence or fact to back it up. There is no change on Air France's web site with respect to transporting arms and ammunition, I have found no reports on any arms related web sites in France and there have been no new regulations announced or promulgated.


My question is, where is the evidence that it is now "hard" to enter or transit France with a firearm? Furthermore, "hard" doesn't mean anything. Either you can or you can't. One poster just did. Who has had a problem?

I will consult with the equivalent of the NRA here in France and get back to you. My initial findings indicate that the rifle can no longer leave the airport, only transit, if the final destination is outside of France. I don't yet know how they treat someone coming to France to hunt.

quote:

will consult with the equivalent of the NRA here in France and get back to you. My initial findings indicate that the rifle can no longer leave the airport, only transit, if the final destination is outside of France. I don't yet know how they treat someone coming to France to hunt.

To bad that pretty much kills a stop over in Paris with fire arms if your final destination is Burkina Faso

Pretty dumb knee-jerk reaction by the French, if that's the case, especially by those hunters who have gone ahead and sought written permission to bring the firearms legally into the country, i.e. through carriers like Delta, Air France, etc.

I also travelled via Paris on my way to Baku for a tur hunt in June and overnighted in Paris, and had no issues with exiting the airport with my rifle.

I corresponded with a local arms lobby person. A decree was passed with respect to security measures at the airport. The short of it is, you cannot count on the customs or police at the airport to automatically allow you to leave the airport with your rifle. They now have every legal right to restrict the rifle to the airport.

In practice of course there have been people walking right through customs with no problem, probably based just on looks or some other profile. It's too bad, Paris used to be a good place to take a day or two before going to Africa, but you can no longer plan on it with any certainty that your rifle can get out of the airport with you.

Normal transit for plane changes remains no problem.

Air France tells me that they now have a third form which has to be filled out, available on their site. They have for several years had forms to be filled out for approval of travel with firearms and with ammunition. Both of those have to be done, approved and then included in your flight dossier.

The new form is a declaration about ownership and testifying to the fact that the firearm is not loaded, ammunition is packed seperately, etc. and this is to be printed signed and kept with you at all times during the travel. It will be shown at check-in and could conceivable also be shown to to any security or customs staff. I have still not been able to get a clear reading on any new rules for stopovers in Paris. Air France doesn't seem to be aware of any.

Wink

It would be good that Bill C explained us how he managed.

Do You remember that 6 or 7 years ago I welcomed Bill C in CDC airport, along with forumites Boghossian and Erik D. And then we had a memorable dinner with You? I brought him back to his hotel close to the airport at about midnight and the morrow he left for Cameroon. And without any hassle at all.

Personally, I'd avoid France at any cost.

quote:

Originally posted by jbderunz:
Wink

It would be good that Bill C explained us how he managed.

Do You remember that 6 or 7 years ago I welcomed Bill C in CDC airport, along with forumites Boghossian and Erik D. And then we had a memorable dinner with You? I brought him back to his hotel close to the airport at about midnight and the morrow he left for Cameroon. And without any hassle at all.

Jean-Bernard,

Lot's of hunters made stopovers in France on their way to Africa, some even stayed at my house. Today however it seems that new security regulations, a decree passed after the most recent terrorist incidents in France, apparently allows the police/customs to refuse entry into France of any firearm and for whatever reason. The problem is not that they are refusing anyone (and I haven't found any examples of Americans travelling to Africa having to stay within the airport with firearms), it's just that now there is uncertainty.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
Personally, I'd avoid France at any cost.

I can't remember how you went to Francophone Africa on your last hunts there, so in your next hunt report to Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroun or CAR let us know how you chose your routing.

Every AR hunter I know that did a stopover in France seems to have done it with no disasters to report.

Thanks for the updates Wink. Hopefully there will be some procedure we can follow down the line as I would definitely like to plan a stopover on the way back from a West African hunt.

Jaglav are you going to West Africa some time soon ?

With the terror attacks happening right now in Paris, travel will become very difficult. When will our incompetent congress impeach/ get rid of Obama and his corrupt cronies, and wipe the terrorist scum off the face of the earth. To watch the Europeans sign their own death warrants by letting the hordes from the middle east invade their countries is unbelievable...and they're coming here next. Dear Lord....where will this end.

France has just closed all its' borders, as a result of the massive terrorist attacks in Paris - over 100 reported killed in the concert venue alone. French Army troops on the streets of Paris and a nationwide state of emergency has been declared.

What will Obama do? Not much.

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
France has just closed all its' borders, as a result of the massive terrorist attacks in Paris - over 100 reported killed in the concert venue alone. French Army troops on the streets of Paris and a nationwide state of emergency has been declared.

What will Obama do? Not much.

Oh, he will do something ...like increasing the number of "refugees" that he allows to enter the U.S. It is being reported that one of the suicide bombers was a Syrian "refugee" that entered into Europe through Greece in October, and that one bomber was only 15 years old.

See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...er-Stade-France.html

We all have seen the horrible plight of the "refugees" on TV, but isn't it a bit disconcerting that most of the "refugees" appear to be able-bodied young men of military age?

Tick ... Tick ... Tick ...BOOM!

I hope I am proven wrong, but I am afraid this is just the beginning.

Some interesting and thought provoking comments by Mark Steyn:

http://www.steynonline.com/729...d-there-are-no-gates

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
France has just closed all its' borders, as a result of the massive terrorist attacks in Paris - over 100 reported killed in the concert venue alone. French Army troops on the streets of Paris and a nationwide state of emergency has been declared.

What will Obama do? Not much.

Why would he do anything? After all he said himself that ISIS is the JV team of terrorist groups. Not much to worry about.

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter: ... What will Obama do? Not much.

He can't even show up on time for the moment of silence at the G20 meeting for the victims of the Paris attacks. Speaks volumes, doesn't it?

See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...n-Paris-attacks.html

Obviously, I wouldn't do it right now, but I believe the French will rebound quickly and traveling through France with declared firearms, will not be an issue. Just a guess.

Im keeping track of this thread. I hope any changes will be sorted out in the next month. I already have my plane tickets thru Paris to Burkina. The wife an I are going to spend a few days in Paris before the hunt.

Just to be clear. These savages will not alter my plans. They can kiss my ASS !!! The whole point is to take your freedom from you.

quote:

Originally posted by Thunder Head:
Im keeping track of this thread. I hope any changes will be sorted out in the next month. I already have my plane tickets thru Paris to Burkina. The wife an I are going to spend a few days in Paris before the hunt.

Just to be clear. These savages will not alter my plans. They can kiss my ASS !!! The whole point is to take your freedom from you.

What dates I will be there 16 Jan to 28 Jan
P M sent

quote:

Originally posted by Thunder Head:
Im keeping track of this thread. I hope any changes will be sorted out in the next month. I already have my plane tickets thru Paris to Burkina. The wife an I are going to spend a few days in Paris before the hunt.

Just to be clear. These savages will not alter my plans. They can kiss my ASS !!! The whole point is to take your freedom from you.

The only potential problem I foresee is a change in the airline firearm transit rules. Hopefully won't happen.

There is NO restriction to travel with a sporting firearm in France. Just walk through the Green Channel "Rien à déclarer" at customs, but carry a proof of gun ownership in case of a control. Grab a cab, walk in the street,overnight at your hotel : You have NOTHING to prepare nor to do. P.M if you want more détails.