Authorities in France are cracking down on knife carrying after an increase in knife attacks - including the severe injury of one man earlier this month - and working to fully enforce existing laws.
Public prosecutors' offices in many areas - including those of Bordeaux, Paris, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Rennes, Lyon, and Toulouse - are now putting in place fixed fines of €500 for carrying or transporting a category D weapon “without legitimate reason”.
The payment of the fine also leads to the ‘perpetrator’ being given a criminal record, and listed on a file banning them from being able to buy or own weapons.
What does current French law say?
The law currently classifies 'dagger-style' knives among category D bladed weapons, in the same way as axes, machetes, combat daggers, telescopic truncheons, tear gas canisters and brass knuckles.
The following criteria have been published by the French customs service for a knife to fall into the category of being a dangerous 'dagger-style' weapon:
Blade integrated with the handle, or equipped with a system enabling it to be made integrated with the handle (ie. for it to be locked into place)
Double-edged over the whole length or at least at the tip
Longer than 15 cm and at least 4 mm thick
A handle incorporating a guard.
Carrying a dagger-style knife outside your home can, under a law dating to 2012, result in up to a year in prison and a fine of up to €15,000.
However, a more recent law, from 2023, encourages the creation of fixed penalty fines for a number of offences punishable by no more than one year of prison, including this one, which were seen as insufficiently enforced in practice.
A fixed fine for knife-carrying was among several of these which the government was keen to put into action this year, prior to the Olympics. In this case, it can mean a fixed €500 fine in settlement of the matter, as long as the knife is also handed in.
What about pocket knives?
The law states that if a knife falls into the description of a category D knife, then context becomes more important before deciding if an offence has been committed.
They can only be carried outside your home if there is a "legitimate reason", it states.
The law does not, therefore, strictly prohibit the carrying of a pocket knife even if it meets the 'dagger-style' criteria.
However, the Service Public website outlines what is meant by a “legitimate cause”.
It states: “To determine whether you have a valid reason for carrying or transporting a weapon, the police, or the judge in the event of a dispute, take into account the place, the circumstances and the context.
“Legitimate cause is examined on a case-by-case basis. It is up to the police and gendarmes to decide whether the pocket knife is ‘likely to constitute a weapon dangerous to public safety.”
This means that, in general, if you were carrying the knife for a clear use such as a picnic, a hiking trip, or fishing excursion, it would be tolerated.
On the other hand, if you were stopped on a city street, and were found to be carrying such a knife “just in case” or “for self-defence”, this would not be considered a legitimate reason.
There have been concerns that some traditional knifes such as Laguiole or Opinel could be concerned, but some commentators state that is unlikely in most cases. For example, a Laguiole does not usually have a lock to fix the blade in place and many popular Opinel models are too small.
Why the crackdown now?
Until now, courts have tended to be more flexible in their rulings towards knives.
They have taken context, type of knife, and use into greater consideration than the law might suggest at face value. This is because knife carrying is sometimes seen as a key part of regional and farming traditions.
However, authorities are now working to enforce the law more strictly after a spike in knife crime activity, including the severe wounding of a 24-year-old man in Grenoble (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) in a knife attack. The perpetrator fled the scene.
Criminal record
The new crackdown has been criticised by some, including gun owner association the Union française des amateurs d'armes.
The group has said that the “ambiguous” legal definition of a “legitimate reason” could lead to abuse, and to unfair prosecutions for legal gun owners such as hunters and collectors.
The group is particularly concerned by the fact that anyone fined under the law will receive a criminal record, and be listed on the Fichier national des personnes interdites d'acquisition et de détention d'armes (FINIADA, national file of people banned from acquiring and possessing weapons).
This file is normally reserved for those who are considered to present a dangerous risk, who have been banned from using weapons due to a serious judicial conviction, psychiatric treatment, severe violence, or harassment.
“Registering [people] on the FINIADA immediately unleashes a thunderbolt of bureaucracy,” said hunting federation la Fédération interdépartementale des chasseurs d'Île-de-France (FICIF).
“Once the procedure has been launched, it is impossible to validate a hunting licence or buy weapons. You have to sell all the weapons you own or risk having them confiscated by the authorities without compensation.”
‘A steep price to pay for a pocket knife’
A lawyer who also enjoys hunting told Le Figaro: “It is a steep price to pay for a pocket knife.
“Once the fine has been paid, it is as if the person has admitted guilt. There is no way of appealing or challenging the actual nature of the offence,” he said.
“I fully understand the desire to combat the violence that is blighting our society, but this arbitrary and indiscriminate way of criminalising all citizens is absolutely intolerable,” he said. “Banning people from carrying pocket knives will not stop criminals, who can buy a kitchen knife for a few euros at a garage sale, from committing their crimes.”
The crackdown in France comes as the UK law is also toughening towards knives. From September 24, it will be illegal to make, transport, sell, carry, or own “zombie-style” knives and “statement” machetes in England and Wales, closing what has been described as a “legal loophole”.
This style of knife is typically defined as a weapon with a double-edged blade over 20 cm in length, with a serrated edge.
