Ted my knowledge of French guns is limited so I bow down to your superior knowledge on this . I have however seen many French made guns with NO original French proof marks .To say no Frenchman would buy an unproofed gun is however a bold statement . I doubt very much if any Frenchman or any other European in the late 1800's or early 1900's even gave proof a thought.
After all many Americans bought US made guns that had no recognised proof marks of any kind .
Gunman,
Thanks for the compliment, but, I learn new things about French guns, and Darne French guns (which is my real interest) all the time.
I have never seen an actual French gun sans any proof marks. I have seen near perfect copies of European guns of all types that were/are produced in the mid east and asia. They have no proof marks.
I wasn't present when proof was not compulsory in France, of course, but, lean heavily on the research of Lee Kennett when he was studying and writing about proof in Europe. Also, in my collection of gun catalogs, which includes the time period when proof was not obligatory, proof is always mentioned and often has several pages of discussion. I have no doubt the gunmakers considered official proof a sales tool.
I have seen French guns that were submitted for reproof, and that are so marked, as well. There would truly be no reason to do this, if gun buyers were unconcerned about proof.
It is true we have no official proof house in the US, but, the gun manufacturers here can and do their own proof testing. We have extraordinary product liability lawyers and courts that see to it. Truthfully, actual failures of American barrels are, thankfully, a very rare occurance.
Best,
Ted
