Culture or torture? France tackles bullfighting King Charles plans to further discourage Andrew and Harry

Bullfighting is a red rag for most French people: 77 percent are against it, according to polls. But in the south of France and the Gascony region, the corrida is still very popular and established. A total of 60 towns from Arles to Nîmes and Béziers to Bayonne on the Atlantic still host bullfights in their arenas. Not all end in the death of the bull: the Atlantic landaise course or the camarguaise course is about hooking a cockade between the bull’s horns, and the bull just might win; usually he survives.

Now the well-known left-wing MP Aymeric Caron is calling for a ban on bullfighting in France. The National Assembly will discuss the parliamentary motion from Wednesday. She already lets the passions flare up.

Caron explains his approach as follows: “In the corrida, mounted picadors use their lances to cut through the neck muscles and neck ligaments of the bull, so that he can no longer lift his head. Then toreros drive barbed banderillas into the animal’s back. Then they pierce his body up to the chest – often several times. In the last stride, the matador plunges a knife into the elongated spinal cord.

“Is that art or torture?” Caron asks the enthusiasts who defend bullfighting as a cultural tradition. He cites a 2016 report from the National Veterinary Council, according to which the bull’s pain is “unmistakable” because it is what drives him to fight in the first place.

Bulls wanting to fight?

Caron’s subjugation angers bullfighting fans in the south of France even before parliamentary debate has begun. Vincent Bouget, councilor of the Communist Party in Nîmes, replied to local radio: «The corrida is not to torment an animal without defense. Taurus, naturally ready to fight, responds to injury not by fleeing, but by attacking. The torero risks its life because it can only cross the horns, i.e. from the front. »

South American countries or the Spanish region of Catalonia have in any case suspended the corrida. Bouget is not impressed that the “courses landaises” on the Atlantic Ocean also end without killing: “Killing is part of bullfighting. The bull cannot complete several corridas because he learns too much the first time and would be dangerous for the torero.”

The armored long-range duel between Caron and Bouget gives an idea of ​​how heated the parliamentary debate will be. Opinions cross the sides. Supporters of the corrida are mostly in the south, while women MPs are more likely to be against it. The conservative republicans, but also socialists and communists hesitate, because local traditions are sacred in France.

Matador Macron

Decisive will be the behavior of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party “Renaissance”. She has decided to vote; but the head of state has said he doesn’t want to impose another ban on France after all the Covid and other restrictions.