I found this info on it:
GIAT MAS .223
GIAT INDUSTRIES is the privately-owned group which, a few years ago, acquired the state-owned MAS (Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne), which used to equip with its rifle french forces. The MAS-223 is a civilian commercial version of the FA-MAS (FA-MAS means FUSIL AUTOMATIC DE LA MANUFACTURE D'ARMES DE SAINT-ETIENNE, or "Assault Rifle made by the Saint-Etienne Weapons Factory). The MAS-.223 fits the proprietary FA-MAS magazines (which were reduced for the civilian users), and fires in semi-automatic only the .5'56x45mm-NATO cartridge. It features a shorter barrel than the FA-MAS F1. It was imported in the USA for a short time, before the 1994 Crime Bill got rid of it. I don't know how much exemplars of this were actually sold in the USA, because I never seen one of those sold second-hand in Internet Guns Exchange websites such as gunsamerica or gunsauctions (maybe this only means that it is so rare that the owners prefer to keep and HOLD IT TIGHT).
[url]http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/2200/2268.htm [/url]
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