France: new home of bull-fighting?

France is on its way towards replacing Spain as the home of bull-fighting. While Catalonia recently voted to outlaw the sport in the region, the corrida is going from strength to strength on this side of the Pyrenees.

This is despite bull-fighting being illegal under article 521-1 of the penal code, which bans "cruel acts and serious ill-treatment towards animals". However, there is an exception for bullfights in areas of "uninterrupted local tradition", which largely means the south-west of the country, where it takes place in 11 departments. Only the Ariège is corrida-free.

The mayor of one bullfighting town, Béziers, and the director of its arena, even say they want to offer their venue to Barcelona’s bullfighters and bullfighting fans should a final ban be introduced in the Catalonian capital in 2012.

More French towns are opting to put on bullfights despite vigorous opposition from the likes of the Nîmes-based Alliance Anti-Corrida which has organised a protest march on September 11.

Founder Claire Starozinski says that an Ipsos survey found 71% of people in the Gard were against corrida. Perhaps, but Nîmes has gone from five corridas a year in 1980 to 20 now.

It is a completely different picture from Spain, where audiences for bullfights have been tumbling. Hard economics are to blame: many smaller rings can no longer make bullfights pay so they are held in big cities and people generally do not travel outside their local area for a fight.

In France, on the other hand, fans will travel to all the nearby events. André Viard, president of the Observatoire National des Cultures Taurines, said two million people attend corridas in France each year. These bullfights are where the bull is always the loser, where the fight is to the death: however, a more traditional French version leaves the bull to fight another day. This sees the bullfighter trying to grab ribbons off the horns.

A similar event is the Course Landaise where there are no weapons or red capes, just the skill of the man to provoke the animal into charging and then his agility in leaping out of the way at the last minute.

Daniel J. Valade, the adjoint to the mayor of Nîmes and spokesman on culture and bullfighting, said people were entitled to their opinions but regional politicians in Catalonia had taken bullfighting hostage in its quarrels with the Madrid government.

He said the support of politicians who respected the culture of bullfighting or tauromachie would "guarantee the freedom of expression in our country".

Politicians such as Prime Minister François Fillon, health minister Roselyne Bachelot, ex- presidential challenger Ségolène Royal and leading socialist Dominique Strauss-Kahn are corrida fans, as is President Sarkozy, but they are rarely seen at events.

Mr Sarkozy’s adviser, Pierre Giacometti, says pressure from the anti-bullfighting lobby meant he and other politicians are "limiting appearances at corridas in France and [Mr Sarkozy] is only doing so in Spain".

Alpes-Maritimes MP Muriel Marland-Militello has challenged her UMP leaders with a proposal to change the law to ban bullfighting and said the Catalan ban "should inspire the French Parliament and remind the UMP of its responsibilities".

She said that MPs should start debating the rights and wrongs of bullfighting as the Catalans had done and added: "This way the UMP can show it is a modern party, ready to lead the way with humane advances for civilisation."

Brigitte Bardot said the ban was a "victory for dignity over cruelty". She said she thought that it was unhealthy to encourage crowds of people towards blood and cruelty as it was "violence that is destroying our society. France must follow the example."