French 'collector' hoarded 400 weapons

Wed Jun 17, 11:16 am ET

STRASBOURG, France (AFP) – French gendarmes said on Wednesday they had arrested a gun enthusiast who hoarded an arsenal of 400 weapons and 5.5 tonnes of ammunition, from assault rifles to hand grenades, at his home.

Forty-nine-year-old Francis Rinck, who lives with his mother in eastern France, had amassed a huge stash of combat weapons, one third knives and two thirds firearms including machine-guns and assault rifles.

Rinck, who describes himself as a "compulsive collector", has been detained on charges of weapons possession, gendarmes said.

"We found weapons from all over the world," said Captain Quentin Petit, the officer in charge of the investigation in the eastern French town of Wissembourg, after a two-day search of Rinck's home.

Found buried among piles of junk in the man's garage, workshops and in a warehouse, the stash also included 130 kilograms (285 pounds) of propellant for cartridges, TNT explosive and grenades.

Rinck ran into trouble with the law once before, some 25 years ago, when he accidentally opened fire on a group of gendarmes and a subsequent search revealed a stash of weapons.

Officers have sent the arsenal for analysis by specialists, who will try to determine if any of the weapons have been used to commit crimes.

We found weapons from all over the world," said Captain Quentin Petit, the officer in charge of the investigation in the eastern French town of Wissembourg, after a two-day search of Rinck's home.

Found buried among piles of junk in the man's garage, workshops and in a warehouse, the stash also included 130 kilograms (285 pounds) of propellant for cartridges, TNT explosive and grenades.

Found buried among piles of junk in the man's garage, workshops and in a warehouse, the stash also included 130 kilograms (285 pounds) of propellant for cartridges, TNT explosive and grenades.

Hmm!, weapons from all over the world. That says collector to me, not terrorist.



Sounds like they found his reloading supplies. The TNT and grenades, though.. that's another story.

I don't know what the Firearms laws are in France but apart from the grenades, all that it says to me is "enthusiast". On the other hand, knowing newspaper reporters, there might be more to this story than the report indicates.

But again, I think I should be able to own a tank if I want one.

There's a lady in Waseca (I think) who has a few.

Yeah, but I want to be able to FIRE them.

I think that would qualify as an arsenal

That would put a new spin on neighborhood disputes, wouldn't it?

400 is probably the largest arsenal the entire country has laid hands on for decades.

Ass load is right. The French Gov't is probably dealing with just such a predicament. Wouldn't want to be seen as a potential military power or anything. I'm sure they are busy drafting surrender documents to any and all countries who might accept them.

Official Surrender Language:

"Please take these guns from us! Here are some nice croissants for your trouble."