“A canister of Marlboro and ten 12-gauges, please.” » The pun is a bit easy, but this order could actually be placed. The Ministry of the Interior has just opened the door to the sale of hunting ammunition to tobacconists, subject to new certification. Certain types of ammunition could thus be found in shop windows alongside packets of cigarettes and scratch games from January 1, 2024.
Why do hunters want to be able to obtain ammunition from tobacconists? What is this new certification? Why is the decision of the Ministry of the Interior controversial? 20 minutes summarizes the issues and doubts surrounding this decision by Place Beauvau.
Simplified ammunition sales, a need for hunters?
Jean-Simon Mérendat himself came to make the announcement on the set of the Chassons TV channel on Wednesday. The head of the Central Arms and Explosives Service of the Ministry of the Interior then explained that sales of category C ammunition, mainly used for hunting, an announcement delayed by the president of the Confederation of tobacconists Philippe Coy, rather evoking the first quarter of 2024. This “good” measure is well considered “in consultation with all the stakeholders concerned”, including gunsmiths and ammunition manufacturers, said Saturday the president of the National Union of Hunting Game Producers Interprochasse, Jean -Christophe Chastang.
Because the idea is based on an observation shared by all players in the sector: with the decline in the number of gun shops, hunters are forced to travel further to stock up on cartridges. “There are places where people have to travel 150 kilometers to look for a box of cartridges, (…) that is no longer possible,” underlines the president of the hunters’ federation Willy Schraen. In addition to the territorial network, the storage of ammunition is also an important issue of accessibility and security. Tobacco shops, which present themselves as the “leading network of local shops”, with some 23,300 points of sale across France, therefore look like the ideal remedy.
What framework will the Ministry of the Interior establish?
The sale of ammunition will therefore enrich the wide range of missions that tobacco shop managers have taken on in recent years: parcel relays, concierge services, snacking, newspaper sales, management of postal parcels, etc. But they will not be able to not do it freely. They will first have to obtain the new “exclusive sale of ammunition” certification, “after passing an exam following adapted and targeted two-day training”, which replaces the state gunsmith diploma and the certificate of professional gunsmith qualification, indicates Place Beauvau.
This certification will only concern “the sole sale of ammunition in categories C (mainly for hunting) and D (varied ammunition which is free for adults to acquire)”. Tobacconists who have validated this certification must then obtain approval for the sale of ammunition from the prefect as well as an authorization to open a business, also issued by the prefect after advice from the mayor of the municipality.
Why is this debated?
If all the players in the sector agree that there is a problem of access to ammunition for hunters, the ministry’s solution still makes some people unhappy: the gunsmiths. Already disappearing, most are worried about new competition. If the margin made by tobacconists is still the subject of discussion, “the tobacconists will be more expensive than the gunsmiths”, tried to reassure Yves Gollety, president of the national union chamber of gunsmiths. And “if the gunsmiths do well and supply the tobacco shops, it’s a business for them too”.
But the idea could also go down badly in public opinion. On the one hand, due to the low popularity of hunters, regularly involved in fatal accidents, but also faults among tobacconists, already favored targets of robbers. The National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) also questioned the “reasonable” nature of this decision, affirming that “two out of three tobacconists continue to sell tobacco to minors completely illegally”. For the sale of category C ammunition, tobacconists must ensure that the customer is the holder of a valid acquisition title, such as a hunting license or a shooting license, however wants to reassure Place Beauvau.