French weapons live in relative mystery today, but it wasn't always like that. The France of today has really shrunk back from global involvement and colonization efforts which it was once a major player in. Couple this lack of temporal relevancy with a history of keeping military documents heavily classified, and the French military programs remain obscure. One rifle which served France for decades and can readily be found on the commercial market is the MAS 36 or its update, the 36/51. Here is its story:
To explain the MAS 36, we need to go 20 years before its development. During WW1, French armed forces relied primarily on the somewhat modern Berthier carbine and rifle system. As the war dragged on, the were forced to dip into reserves of 1886 Lebel rifles. The French also fielded the semiautomatic RSC rifle beginning in 1917, though to a very limited degree.
After the war, it was apparent that some changes and consolidation efforts needed to be made. The plan was to drop all the old weapons and develop modern small arms for the army. Though the Berthier and RSC had modern features, they fired the archaic 8mm Lebel cartridge which paled in comparison to ammunition of other nations at the time. New ammo and new guns was a heavy task, but a necessary one to the French lest the rest of Europe leave them behind technologically. They wanted new light and heavy machine guns, as well as a frontline semiauto rifle and bolt action for rear echelon forces and other noncombat roles. Unfortunately, the MAS 36 and the new 7.5mm french cartridge were the only creations of this program to be adopted and manufactured before the Nazi invasion.
@roofcore