Hunting in France from Switzerland

Unlike Switzerland, where hunting authorisation is a cantonal matter, France operates a national hunting licence system, the issuing and management of which fall to the Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), the public body responsible for environmental policing and hunting management. The hunting licence itself is obtained, for a first application, after passing an examination organised under the authority of the OFB, covering knowledge of wildlife, its environment, applicable regulations and hunting safety. Once issued, this licence is a permanent qualification, but it is not on its own sufficient to hunt: each season the holder must carry out a validation of the licence, an administrative step separate from the examination, which is what actually grants the right to hunt for the relevant period and on the chosen territory. This validation can be national or limited to one or more départements, depending on the hunter's choice, and must be accompanied by compulsory hunting civil-liability insurance, required by law for any hunting activity in France. For a Swiss resident wishing to hunt in France, several paths exist depending on their situation: anyone who does not already hold a hunting licence can obtain a first French licence by sitting the examination organised by the OFB. The Code de l'environnement français (the French Environmental Code) also provides, for non-residents who already hold a hunting licence issued abroad, the possibility of having that foreign licence validated, or of obtaining a temporary hunting licence, valid for nine consecutive days and renewable, on presentation of that foreign licence and proof of civil-liability hunting insurance. The exact requirements for each of these paths — supporting documents, procedures, the territories concerned — must be checked directly with the OFB or with the departmental hunters' federation (fédération départementale des chasseurs) of the relevant département, as these bodies alone are entitled to state the exact procedure applicable to each individual situation. It should also be remembered that hunting periods, huntable species and safety rules in France are specific to French regulation and distinct from Swiss federal and cantonal law, so a hunter used to the Swiss system should find out specifically about the French framework before any outing, rather than applying the rules in force in their canton of residence.

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