Police seize 72 firearms at home of French film star Alain Delon

Dozens of firearms have been seized from French actor Alain Delon's home, announced the Montargis public prosecutor's office in a statement

In all, "72 firearms and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition" were seized from Delon's estate in Loiret, south of Paris, where "the existence of a shooting range" was also noted.

The veteran actor, 88, has “has no authorisation that would allow him to own a firearm”, said local prosecutor Jean-Cédric Gaux.

In a recent interview with magazine Elle, Anouchka Delon, the actor's daughter, explained that she "always goes with her bodyguard" to the family estate. According to her, her brothers walk around the house "armed", believing themselves to be "in the Wild West".

On Instagram, Anthony Delon replied to his sister, denouncing a "slanderous" interview and referring to the weapons: "You spent the summer shooting Glock with your darling, ex-GIGN (elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France) and head of security at Douchy, to finally bring the gun home to Geneva 'in memory of dad'."

"For someone who hates guns, you seemed very brave and 'gifted' according to him," he adds. "As far as I'm concerned, I stopped carrying a gun a long time ago, and I've sorted out this ridiculous identification problem that has cost me a lot of money in the past."

The Montargis public prosecutor's office has announced the opening of a preliminary investigation into "illegal storage of weapons" and "illegal acquisition and possession of category A, B and C weapons".

The announcement comes at a time of family crisis for the Delon family. His children Anthony, Anouchka and Alain-Fabien are at odds over the actor's inheritance and his state of health.

Delon has been in poor health since a stroke in 2019, and is estimated to be worth millions.

Concerns were first raised about him last year when his three children filed a complaint against his former live-in assistant Hiromi Rollin, accusing her of harassment and threatening behaviour.

A medical examination carried out on the actor last year showed him to be both psychologically and physically weakened.

Delon's last major public appearance was to receive an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. In September that same year, he attended the funeral of his friend and fellow star Jean-Paul Belmondo in Paris.