France Orders FN EVOLYS Machine Guns

This week, at the Eurosatory defense expo in Paris, the French government signed an agreement to procure the FN EVOLYS lightweight machine gun. While the full details of the procurement are yet to be revealed a contact adjustment will see France procure up to 5,000 EVOLYS as well as a quantity of ammunition. This represents the first major contract for EVOLYS.

Belgium’s Defense Minister Theo Francken shared the news on his social media pages earlier today, announcing: “Excellent news for our defense industry at #Eurosatory2026. In the presence of the French Minister of Defense CaVautrin, FN has received a major order for 5,000 EVOLYS machine guns and ammunition for the French Army,” Francken concluded “this prestigious order confirms FN's excellence and further strengthens its position as a reference in Europe.”

On LinkedIn FN Herstal’s CEO Julien Compere celebrated the order, writing: “in the presence of the Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin and Minister Theo F., the signing of an order for the acquisition of several thousand machine guns #FNEvolys for the benefit of the French army.”

Le Soir reports that an initial order for 2,000 guns covers a mix of EVOLYS and Mk3 Minimis. FN confirmed to us that the agreement is for the supply of FN EVOLYS 5.56 and 7.62 and FN MINIMI 7.62; as well as 5.56 and 7.62 ammunition. France has been circling an EVOLYS procurement for some time with evaluations beginning several years ago. As a result French troops have already been photographed with EVOLYS. As Eurosatory opened on 15 June, it was also noted that EVOLYS appeared in the official display of France’s Directorate General of Armaments' stand, in their close combat display.

FN unveiled the EVOLYS in 2021, and TFB got an early look at the weapon, often described as a lightweight assaulter's machine gun, the EVOLYS, available in 5.56x45 and 7.62x51, weighs between 5.5-6kg (12-13lbs) unloaded and without accessories. For FN a key focus during the development of the weapon was weight and manoeuvrability. It has a full-length top rail and a side-mounted self-correcting lateral feed system. The EVOLYS platform has undergone some evolution since its launch, in 2024 some ergonomic changes were introduced.

As further details of France’s EVOLYS procurement emerge we’ll update this article.