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I just got this from Long Range Shooting in Europe forum on Facebook:

Help our French Friends

Please sign the petition below

The biggest range in France, was condemned one week ago to leave the place where we are, near Versailles castle. It's killing us, as if Bisley range was to be closed.

I do not know if in this matter NRA UK can be of any help, please let me know. A relay of this information on NRA web site would be of great help to put pressure on authorites and help getting a solution.

1500 members are kicked out, without any replacement solution.
this is also for all official and professional people training here : policemen, soldiers, customs and special forces.

I would greatly appreciate your personal support as well as NRA support and help in sign on here under:

https://secure.avaaz.org/fr/petition/Ti ... share/?new

Best and warmest regards

Bernard COLLOT
Délégué Général du Tir National de Versailles
NRA member

BTDT

What has it been condemned for?
Was it a bad safety record?

Mark


Not posted with Trippytalk.

From what I heard, the NTV, one of France older shooting club has been using the ground owned by the Versailles Chateau. The Versailles Estate does not like the noise coming from the club and couple of years ago decided not renewed the lease. Since, the club has technically been trespassing. As simple as that

BTW, thanks VM Mag41UK for passing the petition on. I now owe you a Pastis !

While I feel very sorry for them, and any range closing is another nail in the shooters coffin, i do wonder...

If Froggy is correct, they must have know the range was closing for a couple of years....surely they could / should have spent that time finding another range..??

Or is this a case of "heads in sand" until they turn up one day and the gates are locked..??

Have shot on that range (think it was built for Olympics in 1900?) and its a lovely little range. Probably needs a few Euros spent on it but it would be sad to see it go. I have signed.

The NTV is even older. After the 1870 defeat and the subsequent loss of Alsace Loraine, France went all patriotic and put the top gear on to prepare the "revenge". The army was beef-up, military instruction was given in school to prepare future warriors and marksmanship was promoted at a national level. For this purpose, the creation of Shooting Societies/Clubs were encourage usually with more than favourable loan of ground.

France is very poor when it comes up to rifle ranges 200 + There was a project to build near Paris a permanent "national shooting centre" in time for the 2012 Olympics. Looked amazing on paper but of course once London was chosen, the project & promises were soon forgotten.

I signed their petition out of moral support but fear NTV will find very difficult to fall back on their feet . Even if NTV manage to find a suitable space, the cost of re-building infrastructures equivalent of what they currently have, will be astronomical. Far beyond the mean of their 2,000 or so members and since there is little appetite for investing public money to such horrible sport ...

Daryll wrote:While I feel very sorry for them, and any range closing is another nail in the shooters coffin, i do wonder...

If Froggy is correct, they must have know the range was closing for a couple of years....surely they could / should have spent that time finding another range..??

Or is this a case of "heads in sand" until they turn up one day and the gates are locked..??

They know since décades they cpuld not stand there, just beside the Castle, adjacent to the "oiece d'"eau des gardes, and nearly in town...

If my informations are correct, they were ordered to leave some years ago, and they lost recently a case and are fined an important amount per day.

What would be interesting to know is the french shooting union position? They even does not run their national champs at Versailles!!

R.G.C