Customs officials displayed the arsenal on a video on Youtube (see below) that shows line after line of the weapons seized.
The man was stopped by officials in a post office in Boulogne as he was trying to send a package to the Netherlands that was found to contain a rifle.
When customs officers searched his vehicle they found a handgun and bullets. They then proceeded to his home, accompanied by police with dogs trained to sniff out explosives.
French customs office video shows the massive haul of weapons seized
There they discovered rooms packed with loaded shotguns, more ammunition and weapons parts, none of which the man was licensed to keep.
They completed their hunt at a warehouse rented by the same individual, where they came across racks of assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, cartridges and a workshop for retooling weaponry.
In total, 488 guns, 13 grenades, 1,309 weapons parts, and more than 100 kilos of cartridges and ammunition were seized, customs officials said in a statement.
The man was a former gunsmith who no longer has permits allowing him to own weapons.
Legal authorities are now pursuing the matter with him.