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French Customs

M

merlin_industries

Well-Known Member
Has anyone had any experience with French Customs Officials at the Ports or Tunnel?
I have heard some rumours recently from a number of sources that the French are confiscating a lot of military collectibles at the ports, even if they have come from a reputable shop. One person told me they had a bayonet taken, car impounded and a 2K fine !
Obviously there are the idiots who try and sneak in live ordinance via the tunnel and when it gets found they close the tunnel and get very upset. Quite right, live stuff should be left well alone.
Are there any French rules published to say what you can and cant buy / transport / export to UK ?
Are there any French licenses required to buy stuff and import to the UK ?
As with most things in the French legal system it all seems a bit vague and open to interpretation.
Any help would be appreciated before I make a trip over there to buy shell cases.
Cheers
 
If you have any militaria in your car or on your person do not travel through France, you will be dicing with the Devil,,,,,, Dave
 
best thing to do would be to phone up customs and ask for a definitive list of what is and whats currently not allowed to be brought in to the country,any permits required etc
 
Thats good advice. Has anyone tried this already ?
I contacted UK customs last week to ask the same questions from the UK importation perspective. They said they would have to ask their technical team and get back to me. That was a week ago !
Sounds like this is potentially a very ambiguous area.
I would be interested to learn from other members experience.
M
 
Basically the easy answer when you ask the `authorities` is no - as that`s the cop out for them?!
The French are using the excuse that you are now removing national treasures (Nick Cage not included!).
Proof of purchase from Belgium - say - doesn`t wash as according to ferry/tunnel operators you have to declare any weapons, ordnance (replica included) and yes any empty 100 year old shell case is still classed as ordnance! falls into their breach of rules thing.
Bottom line is they will not allow it & whilst there is no definitive rule/s they have the power - so risk it at your peril!!
I had a bonafide seller in France who had a job lot for sale.
I contacted Customs, The Home Office, Dept of Trade & my local firearms officer to try to legally bring this lot into the UK (i also have my own ltd Co).
Even with ditching the dubious Sect 5 stuff, the time, cost & effort (to probably get told no) was not worth it. I think it all ended up in Ireland - well known for it`s non-terror activities!!
 
merlin_industries said:
I contacted UK customs last week to ask the same questions from the UK importation perspective. They said they would have to ask their technical team and get back to me. That was a week ago !
Click to expand...
That probably means they just couldn't be bothered to deal with your question. This would not surprise me at all coming from any UK government agency. If they can't get any money out of you then it's not worth their effort.

What do we pay our income tax for again?
 
I had another crack at this today. UK Customs , who conveniently forgot to call back from last week were today suggesting I contact the French Embassy.
So I did !......well they were about as useful as a chocolate fireguard....I should have known they would not have a clue about their own export policy on military surplus.
Still no further forward.
These French customs bods must be working off some internal policy documents. I can't imagine they would have the initiative to set their own rules ?
 
This subject is guaranteed to cause annoyance, I think in part due to how different officials interpret their rules. As one of the guys said earlier, I view it as British stuff being repatriated to Britain and it shouldn't need any official permission if the items you are bringing back are clearly inert. Even while my grandfathers, their brothers, cousins and brothers-in-law were fighting and dying they were paying the taxes that helped provide the munitions they used. I can understand the authorities wanting to deter people from risking their lives by bringing back live ammo but there needs to be some application of common sense, outdated as that may seem.
 
Sorry Guys - I think you are missing the point
Apart from the obvious Laws regarding lijev ammunition, Sect 5 etc (all dependant on country0.
Ther are no hard & fast rules regarding the movement of this type of stiuff from the Continent to the UK - the authorities just don`t want you to do it!!
The traders from other countries that go to Ciney, Wavre etc should have certain permits (technically) to go from one country to another. Some countries have stricter/more limiting rules than others,
If you go from Ciney back to Germany with a car full of stuff & do not have the correct paperwork and are stopped then you are in a world of hurt as an example.
As I said before an empty brass case from WWI going from France to UK has no technical restrictions except those percieved by the customs guy that stops you. he might let it go, he might just confiscate it or worse, & as I saids before if you read the ferry/tunnel rules you are in breach of those if you do not tell before travelling that you will have it - guess what the answer will be when you call them!!
 
Hi

What happened with tourists and a simple decorative brass shell (new paranoa caused by the manhatan towers ..??... )

=========
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-London-bound-train-live-artillery-shell.html


Eurostar security scare as British tourists try to board train with LIVE artillery shell

By PETER ALLEN
Last updated at 1:55 AM on 29th June 2010
article-1290277-01951A85000004B0-408_233x340.jpg


Eurostar services were held up for at least an hour after the tourists tried to board a London-bound service at Gare du Nord with a live artillery shell


Two British Eurostar passengers sparked a security alert by trying to board the high-speed train with a live artillery shell, it emerged today.
The couple – who are believed to come from the London area – had picked up the casing, which dated back to the 19th Century, thinking it would make a ‘nice souvenir’.
‘It turned out to be anything but,’ said a Paris police spokesman.
‘They caused a full scale alert, with trains cancelled and bomb disposal specialists called in.’
The extraordinary incident happened on Sunday when the tourists tried return home from a weekend in the French capital.
They had bought the shell, which dated back to 1885, at a popular Sunday morning flea market in Saint-Ouen.
It was placed inside one of the passengers’ luggage before being spotted by security cameras.
Explosives experts, firemen and police were immediately scrambled to the Gare du Nord, the main Eurostar terminal in Paris, with services held up by at least an hour.
‘Live explosives are strictly banned on all cross-Channel services, no matter how old they are,’ said a French customs source.
‘All kinds of banned articles are picked up every day, but this is the first time that someone’s tried to get through with a pre-First World War shell in their luggage.’
The device dated back to France’s Third Republic, and a time when the whole country was full of live explosives following the Franco-Prussian war, and because of the steady build-up of arms towards the Great War.

article-1290277-0A3DBA58000005DC-269_468x286.jpg

The Saint-Ouen flea market where the shell was purchased is the largest in Paris

The police spokesman said the unnamed couple were cautioned about their behaviour, and the shell confiscated and destroyed.
‘They were then allowed to return to Britain undisturbed,’ said the spokesman.
All kinds of security scares have held up the Eurostar service since it began in 1994, but this is believed to be the first time that antique explosives have been to blame.
A Eurostar spokesman confirmed: ‘There was a security incident which caused slight disruption to a couple of our services.’
The Saint-Ouen flea market is the largest in Paris and sprawls between Porte de St-Ouen and Porte de Clingnancourt.
It attracts as many as 150,000 traders, tourists and bargain hunters at weekends, with numerous military souvenirs on offer.
In the past, these have ranged from Second World War German uniforms and helmets from the Nazi occupation of Paris, to medals and even swords from the Napoleonic era.
Explosive cases also turn up, but seldom live ones. Northern France is full of used ordnance because of the huge number of wars which have been fought on its soil.
The market also sells everything from antiques to second-hand and new clothes, office chairs and even old tin baths.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...train-live-artillery-shell.html#ixzz1nnAmPZFD​


===========

Artillery shell sparks bomb scare on Eurostar train

Peter Allen, in Paris
28 Jun 2010
Bomb disposal experts, firemen and police were scrambled to a Eurostartrain after a passenger carried a live artillery shell on board.The Paris to London service was held up at the Gare du Nord station for an hour yesterday as the emergency services were called in to deal with the shell, which dates back to 1885. It had been bought at a popular flea market in Saint-Ouen and placed inside the passenger's luggage.It was spotted by security cameras as the passenger got on the train.“Live explosives are strictly banned on all cross-Channel services, no matter how old they are,” said a French customs source.“All kinds of banned articles are picked up every day, but this is the first time that someone's tried to get through with a pre-First World War shell in their luggage.”The device dated back to France's Third Republic, a time when the country was full of live explosives following the Franco-Prussian war.

=========================
http://morrisonworldnews.com/?p=16417



Eurostar Scare As British Tourists Board Train With LIVE Artillery Shell

Posted by admin on Jun 29th, 2010 and filed under Europe, Photo Gallery. You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



Two British Eurostar passengers sparked a security alert by trying to board the high-speed train with a live artillery shell, it emerged today.
The couple – who are believed to come from the London area – had picked up the casing, which dated back to the 19th Century, thinking it would make a ‘nice souvenir’.
‘It turned out to be anything but,’ said a Paris police spokesman.
‘They caused a full scale alert, with trains cancelled and bomb disposal specialists called in.’
The extraordinary incident happened on Sunday when the tourists tried return home from a weekend in the French capital.
They had bought the shell, which dated back to 1885, at a popular Sunday morning flea market in Saint-Ouen.
It was placed inside one of the passengers’ luggage before being spotted by security cameras.
Explosives experts, firemen and police were immediately scrambled to the Gare du Nord, the main Eurostar terminal in Paris, with services held up by at least an hour.
‘Live explosives are strictly banned on all cross-Channel services, no matter how old they are,’ said a French customs source.

‘All kinds of banned articles are picked up every day, but this is the first time that someone’s tried to get through with a pre-First World War shell in their luggage.’
The device dated back to France’s Third Republic, and a time when the whole country was full of live explosives following the Franco-Prussian war, and because of the steady build-up of arms towards the Great War.
The police spokesman said the unnamed couple were cautioned about their behavior, and the shell confiscated and destroyed.
‘They were then allowed to return to Britain undisturbed,’ said the spokesman.
All kinds of security scares have held up the Eurostar service since it began in 1994, but this is believed to be the first time that antique explosives have been to blame.
A Eurostar spokesman confirmed: ‘There was a security incident which caused slight disruption to a couple of our services.’
The Saint-Ouen flea market is the largest in Paris and sprawls between Porte de St-Ouen and Porte de Clingnancourt.
It attracts as many as 150,000 traders, tourists and bargain hunters at weekends, with numerous military souvenirs on offer.
In the past, these have ranged from Second World War German uniforms and helmets from the Nazi occupation of Paris, to medals and even swords from the Napoleonic era.
Explosive cases also turn up, but seldom live ones. Northern France is full of used ordnance because of the huge number of wars which have been fought on its soil.
The market also sells everything from antiques to second-hand and new clothes, office chairs and even old tin baths.

==============​


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/eurostar/7859223/British-Eurostar-passengers-try-to-board-train-with-live-artillery-shell.html

==========================
 
Last edited:
`Security Cameras` - what a quaint way of saying X-Ray!!!
Unfortunately other peoples stupidity & ignorance is paid for by those that aren`t stupid or ignorant!
 
Where it says "dated back to 1885", I bet it was a 37mm Hotchkiss round and someone didn't know what the headstamp meant.
 
With you on that one Falcon - probably find it wasn`t even live & had been converted into a cigar cutter!
Of course maybe there is security camera footage of a couple trying to drag a 40cm x 180cm round into Gare Midi without anyone noticing!
 
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