The French government is going to oppose the ban on bullfights across the country, saying it is a tradition rooted in the south
France’s National Assembly will debate a bill on November 24 to ban bullfighting across France, which is currently “traditionally” allowed in bullfighting departments in the southeast and southwest of the country, near the Spanish border.
The bill was introduced by Deputy Aymeric Caron, a member of the La Francia Insumisa group, the equivalent of Podemos in France. This Member believes that the abolition of bullfighting throughout France will mean “one small step for the animal, one giant step for humanity”.
However, fans of bullfights in France won their first victory this Wednesday: the deputies of the law committee of the General Assembly opposed the ban on bullfights across the country by rejecting the proposed law of La Francia Insumisa in a show of hands vote.
Caron, who believes that the bullfight has nothing to do with art, but that it is “torture”, described the rejection of his text by the Law Commission as “disgrace”. “A real vote will take place in the chamber with the group of deputies, they can still take it,” the deputy wrote on Twitter.
Despite the rejection in the Law Commission, the bill to abolish bullfighting will be debated and voted on in the chamber next week, but has little chance of being passed.
The French government is going to oppose the ban on bullfighting across the country, saying it is a deep-rooted tradition in the south of France. French MPs, regardless of political affiliation, are divided on the issue.
Caron wants to change the French penal code. French law prohibits cruelty to animals and punishes those who practice it, whether in public or not, with up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros. However, the seventh paragraph of Article 521-1 of the Penal Code states that these provisions “do not apply to bullfights when an unbroken local tradition can be invoked” nor to cockfights, permitted in the north of France and in some French overseas territories areas.
The anti-bullfighting deputy argues that the justification that it is “an unbroken local tradition” in the south of France is false. “The bullfight is not a French tradition at all, but a Spanish one. He arrived in France in 1853 to please Eugenia de Montijo, the Andalusian wife of Napoleon III,” explains Caron.
For this French Member, “bullfighting is barbaric” and “no excuse is acceptable for not abolishing it”. According to Caron, when voting, French delegates should ask themselves whether they are “those who support torture and the public execution of an animal or those who stand up against what should be called barbarism”.
“Apart from any political consideration, I support Aymeric Caron’s bill to abolish bullfighting, this horrendous practice and outrageous suffering,” Brigitte Bardot, former French actress and animal rights activist, wrote on Twitter.
According to data from the Union of French Bullfighting Cities (UVTF), 440,000 people attended bullfighting shows in France last season. Festivities were held in 56 French bullfighting cities and 836 bulls were fought.
77% of French people support a ban on bullfighting in France, according to an Ifop poll in February. On the other hand, 71% of the inhabitants of the French bullfighting cities (Arles, Bayonne, Béziers, Dax, Mont-de-Marsan, Nîmes and Vic-Fezensac) are in favor of preserving bullfighting, according to another Ifop poll. in June in the south of France.
Source: La Verdad
I am David Jackson, a highly experienced professional in the news industry. I have been working as an author at Today Times Live for over 10 years, and specialize in covering the entertainment section. My expertise lies in writing engaging stories that capture readers’ attention and deliver timely information about the latest developments.
