Anger in France, Britain over Trump's gun law speech

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01:16

US President Donald Trump sparked anger in France and Britain by suggesting looser gun laws could have helped prevent deadly attacks in Paris in 2015, and linking a wave of knife crime in London to a handgun ban.

In a speech to the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Dallas, Texas on Friday, Trump mimicked the shooting of victims in the Paris rampage, and said if civilians had been armed "it would have been a whole different story."

The French government issued its strongest criticism of Trump since he took office, at a time when President Emmanuel Macron has been reinforcing bilateral ties following a state visit.

What did Trump say exactly?

"Nobody has guns in Paris and we all remember more than 130 people, plus tremendous numbers of people that were horribly, horribly wounded. You notice nobody ever talks about them," he told the audience at the NRA.

US President Donald Trump speaks at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on May 4, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. /VCG Photo

"They were brutally killed by a small group of terrorists that had guns. They took their time and gunned them down one by one," Trump added.

He then mimicked the assailants shooting their weapons, saying: "Boom. Come over here. Boom, come over here. Boom."

Paris attacks: What happened on Nov. 13, 2015?

The November 2015 atrocities by gunmen loyal to the terrorist group ISIL were the worst terror attacks in France's history and left the capital and wider country deeply traumatized.

Jihadists armed with assault rifles and suicide vests struck outside a France-Germany football match at the national stadium, at cafes and bars, and the Bataclan concert hall with a coordinated assault that left 130 people dead and more than 350 wounded.

Protesters march to the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on May 4, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. /VCG Photo

Attackers either died at the scene or were killed in a subsequent police raid. One suspect, Salah Abdeslam, survived and is now in prison in France.

How did France respond?

"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 foreign office said in a statement.

"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."

Former French president Francois Hollande and ex-prime minister Manuel Valls, who were in power at the time of the 2015 attacks, also expressed their outrage in separate statements.

Twitter screenshot. /CGTN Photo

Hollande called Trump's remarks "shameful" and said they, "said a lot about what he (Trump) thinks of France and its values".

Valls wrote on Twitter "indecent and incompetent. What more can I say?"

Other French politicians including the mayor of Paris took issue with Trump’s comments after he acted out the scene of the massacre by Islamist assailants at Paris’ Bataclan concert hall, where 90 of the 130 victims of the attacks died.

However, there was no immediate response from President Emmanuel Macron.

London also targeted

Trump, who is due to visit Britain on July 13, told NRA members that a “once very prestigious” London hospital, which he did not name, had become overwhelmed with victims of knife attacks.

"They don’t have guns, they have knives and instead there’s blood all over the floors of this hospital. They say it’s as bad as a military war zone hospital," Trump added.

He then mimicked someone using a knife.

Blaise Maliskey, age 11, tries out a firearm in an exhibit hall at the NRA's annual convention on May 4, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. /VCG Photo

Knife-related crimes rose by 23 percent in London last year and a spate of stabbings and shootings have left more than 50 people dead this year.

(With inputs from agencies)