French at odds over proposed bullfighting ban

An old dispute has reignited in France: should bullfighting be abolished? A proposal to this effect has been submitted to the National Assembly by Aymeric Caron, a deputy from the left-wing party La France Insoumise. Although Caron withdrew his proposal on Thursday because it was subject to too many amendments, it will be discussed again in January. The national press is fiercely divided over the issue.

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Le Figaro (FR) /

Impoverishment through standardisation

A ban would be devastating for small towns and rural areas, Le Figaro warns:

“Bullfighting may be considered archaic, or on the contrary, the height of civilisation. But however one feels, there is no need for it to be banned today. For the few departments that hold bullfights, banning them would even be a brutal continuation of the dispossession that is slowly but surely stripping the French of their tangible and intangible heritage. When medium-sized towns are dying out, when rural regions are emptying, when metropolisation is standardising public space with international brand names, is it the right time to classify a regional tradition, part of our ancestral folklore, as a crime?”

L'Humanité (FR) /

End this barbaric tradition

Muriel Arnal, president of the animal rights organisation One Voice, calls in L'Humanité for more respect:

“The commitment of the population to more empathy and compassion, the aspirations of a very large majority to re-establish a respectful relationship with nature and animals, is simply brushed aside by a large part of the political decision-makers. ... France, which is at the bottom of the EU in terms of animal welfare and environmental protection, finally has the opportunity to keep up with the times and the wishes of its population. ... The time is ripe for the abolition of bullfighting, this barbaric tradition that the French no longer want.”