Going to Nantes, France

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

As a part of my school's mechanical engineering program, we are given an opportunity to study abroad the fall semester of our junior year in Nantes, France. For me, this would be in about 6 months. I'm pretty much committed to this trip on my end, and I have pretty good odds of being accepted, so now I want to do some research on the area. To that end, I was hoping for some advice about metal detecting/magnet fishing/treasure hunting in France, especially from Americans who've traveled there, but anybody with reliable information is welcome. I'll be in France primarily, but I think we will have time to visit other countries in Europe, so feel free to substitute 'France' for any neighboring country as well. I have a few specific questions.

1. How can I best get my equipment over there? I have an Ace 400 and a Garret Carrot that I actually need, I also have a folding shovel and lesche that I would like to have, bur I figure it may be cheaper to buy a shovel over there. I also would like my magnet fishing stuff (a 350 lb strength magnet on paracord). I'm thinking the Ace and pinpointer could maybe be carry on, but I don't know about the magnet.
2. How strict are the laws/police on detecting? Around here I tend to just pick a park and start digging, and I haven't had any trouble yet.
3. Is it necessary to speak French fluently? I speak Spanish pretty well, and English of course, but almost no French.
4. How common are live grenades/bullets/artillery shells? Even something as small as a bullet I wouldn't be able to take home (or back to campus for that matter), so should I just call the police on the spot if I uncover something like that? Should I wear safety goggles?
5. In the States, I've never found anything historically significant, are there authorities that need to be contacted if I do find something ancient?

I'm sure there is a lot more that I need to know, so don't hold back on useful information.

Also, if there is a better thread for this, let me know. I went with 'General Discussion' because I felt there would be the most exposure here.

 

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[xcopperstax]

I've been to France but have not detected there. I think I'm qualified to answer two of these: In the city you will do pretty well with just English. Outside of the city a lot of people don't speak it. It's important to try to speak a little... Hello, goodbye, please thank you. They appreciate that. I don't think they allow detecting on any public property so you will have to get permissions. There's someone on "todays finds" from France who posted a nice silver coin within the past week. I'd say send that person a message. Good luck one of my dreams is to detect Europe... any country!

 

[Mackaydon]

In the early 80's I MD-ed southern France beaches in areas frequented by the locals; not the tourists. I found many coins and attracted the attention of children. About every 5th or 6th common coin found I would hand it to one of the children; the parents never bothered me. I still have the remaining coins and great memories of those days.
Don......

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

I've been to France but have not detected there. I think I'm qualified to answer two of these: In the city you will do pretty well with just English. Outside of the city a lot of people don't speak it. It's important to try to speak a little... Hello, goodbye, please thank you. They appreciate that. I don't think they allow detecting on any public property so you will have to get permissions. There's someone on "todays finds" from France who posted a nice silver coin within the past week. I'd say send that person a message. Good luck one of my dreams is to detect Europe... any country!

Ok, that's good to know about speaking French, but too bad about about detecting on public land. Thanks.

 

[xcopperstax]

Ok, that's good to know about speaking French, but too bad about about detecting on public land. Thanks.

That doesn't mean you can't do it... haha but it's a good idea to be careful of that. You could plead ignorance. I was in Paris where I think it probably wouldn't fly. I public park in the country.... who knows.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

That doesn't mean you can't do it... haha but it's a good idea to be careful of that. You could plead ignorance. I was in Paris where I think it probably wouldn't fly. I public park in the country.... who knows.

I do parks around here all the time. Even places of questionable legality. I just start out subtly and keep going if nobody tells me to stop. It's worked out pretty well for me so far, but I intend to be a little bit more careful in a foreign country.