You're right about legal firearms, there are much less of them in France. However criminals have no trouble equipping themselves, and Kalashnikov shootings are quite frequent between rival gangs.
It’s no excuse but my understanding is the issue here in the US is sort of the random traffic stop - what if the person the cop stops has a gun?
Thus every interaction with a probably “non-criminal” citizen or whatever carries fear and danger.
Again, no excuse at all. But I do think there’s a relation between racist (and all) police violence, and the overall violence in our society - which firearm ownership is one aspect of.
