Ordered and commissioned by the French Army in the 1970s, the FAMAS met the desire for a powerful tactical weapon , small in size and also easy to operate and maintain. The FAMAS replaced the rifle FSA MAS 1949-56 in caliber 7.5 mm and the submachine gun MAT 49 in caliber 9 × 19 mm Parabellum.

The first version of FAMAS called F1 is sold more than 400,000 times in France and in some other countries ( Djibouti , Gabon , Senegal and United Arab Emirates ) and sometimes given to allied countries. Giat Industries then produces a G1 variant that serves as a transition to the G2 . The latter complies with the NATO standard STANAG 4719. In France, the G2 is in service with the French Navy.

Designed as the most modern of its time , but complex to maintain , this weapon was not massively purchased by any other country due to its high cost (almost twice that of an American M16- assault rifle ) . Moreover, the French staff had initially rejected requests for export of this weapon to quickly satisfy the needs of the French army , Western armies at that time often more common weapons of American , Belgian (FN) or Austrian ( Steyr AUG ) origin.