1st LD Writethru: France expresses "firm disapproval" of Trump's gun law comments

PARIS, May 6 (Xinhua) -- France has strongly criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks suggesting more flexible arms rules in the country could have helped prevent deadly terrorist attacks in 2015.

"France expresses its firm disapproval of President Trump's comments about the Paris attacks on Nov. 13, 2015 and demands that the memory of the victims be respected," the French foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday.

"Every country freely decides on its own laws on carrying firearms, as in other areas. France is proud to be a country where acquiring and carrying firearms is strictly regulated," the statement added.

Trump, on Friday, told a gathering at the National Rifle Association (NRA) which advocates for gun rights, that if civilians had been armed, it would have been a different outcome to 2015 series of explosions and shootings that left 130 victims.

"The free flow of arms within society does not constitute a bulwark against terrorist attacks, it can instead facilitate the planning of this type of assaults," the ministry fired back.

Former French president Francois Hollande, who was ruling the country at the time of the Paris attacks, rejected Trump's remarks as "shameful" and "obscene" which "tell a lot about what he thinks about France and its values." Enditem