France Moves Toward a Specific Bowhunting Permit

France is moving toward the creation of a specific permit for bowhunting, according to Le Chasseur Français. The measure is being promoted by the Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs (FNC) and the Fédération Française des Chasseurs à l’Arc (FFCA), following several exchanges with the French government.

The report is consistent with a previous statement from the FNC. On April 28, the organisation said minister Mathieu Lefèvre had reaffirmed his intention to create, “before the rentrée”, a specific permit for chasse à l’arc, or bowhunting, a project the national federation has been working on for years with support from the FFCA.

A regulated practice for three decades

Bowhunting has been authorised and regulated in France since the mid-1990s. In 2025, the FNC marked 30 years since the practice was regulated and linked its development to the training work carried out by the FFCA.

Under the current system, anyone who hunts with a bow must hold a validated French hunting permit and prove that they have completed a mandatory special training course. French regulations on bowhunting cover both training requirements and the equipment that may be used.

The creation of a separate permit would therefore not mean starting from scratch. Instead, it would distinguish a hunting method that already has specific requirements. According to reports published in France, the new framework would keep a common basis with the general hunting permit while adding content adapted to safety, technique and the particular features of hunting with a bow.

Training, access and new hunters

The proposal is not only an administrative change. For the FNC and the FFCA, a dedicated permit could help organise access to bowhunting more clearly and make the discipline more visible to people who come to hunting through archery, close-range wildlife management, stalking or quieter forms of hunting.

That point is especially relevant in France’s debate over generational renewal and the recruitment of new hunters. Bowhunting requires technical training, knowledge of animal behaviour and strict standards on range, shot placement and the tracking of wounded game. For that reason, its supporters present it as a discipline capable of attracting people interested in a more specialised form of hunting.