That just changed a year or 2 ago in Massachusetts. You no longer need an FID for pepper spray. So many unwitting felons from out of state at our colleges before that. On the other hand, there's a partial ban on glass beer mugs due to some deaths.....
Sylain,
What is the legality of pepper spray or mace in France? I hear hear you can actually get a CCW License, but I imagine it's pretty tough.
I'm not 100% sure.I think it's illegal to carry, or legal under a certain size of canister and OC content.
But I know anyone over 18 can buy pepper spray and many people carry it, sometimes even advised by the police to do so ... even though it's technically illegal.
Most of our laws regarding carrying weapons (like knives and other tools) are not very clear anyway and say it's illegal to carry "unless the person has a legitimate reason to carry" ... with nowhere in the law telling you what a "legitimate reason" would be, and self defense can't be one of them according to some folks.