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France slams Trump for remarks on guns and Paris attacks
AP
Last Updated IST
Bill Wang photographs his wife Brooke Wang as she sets a cardboard cutout of U.S. President Donald Trump in front of a banner during an open carry firearm rally on the sidelines of the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 5, 2018. REUTERS
Bill Wang photographs his wife Brooke Wang as she sets a cardboard cutout of U.S. President Donald Trump in front of a banner during an open carry firearm rally on the sidelines of the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 5, 2018. REUTERS

France is sternly rejecting US President Donald Trump's argument that if Parisians had more guns they could have stopped the deadly 2015 extremist attacks on the French capital.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed his "firm disapproval" of Trump's remarks and vigorously defended France's gun controls.

In a statement today, Le Drian said gun violence statistics "do not lead us to reconsider France's choice on this issue." Gun violence death rates are much higher in the US.

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Le Drian continued: "Free circulation of weapons in society does not constitute a rampart against terrorist attacks, to the contrary, it can facilitate ... this type of attack." Islamic State attackers killed 130 people in Paris' Bataclan concert hall, cafes and the national stadium.

Trump spoke at a National Rifle Association meeting.

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(Published 06 May 2018, 07:32 IST)