In Bayonne
A 16-year-old bullfighter parades under the sun.
In his hands, a long yellow and pink cape.
“I have been immersed in the world of bullfighting since I was little,”
he explains, under the eyes of his grandfather, filled with pride.
In Bayonne, on the Place de la Liberté, 350 of them met in the morning, Saturday November 19.
Aficionados and players in the bullfighting world demonstrate together against the bill to abolish bullfighting, brought by the deputy of France Insoumise, Aymeric Caron.
Read alsoCorrida: isolated, Aymeric Caron descends into the arena
“Abolition is a bit of a shocking term
,” insists Olivier Baratchart, in the middle of the crowd.
This sexagenarian has been director of the arenas of Bayonne for 26 years.
For him, the appointment was unmissable.
“
I come to defend a whole culture, a devouring passion and above all, the taste for freedom
”, he asserts.
Alain, a 73-year-old amateur, comes to meet him and shakes his hand.
“
Aymeric Caron, he can continue to eat insects in Paris, but leave us alone!
jokes this pensioner, a Basque beret on his head.
Julien Lescarret, matador retired for 10 years, is welcomed like a star.
After twenty years in the bullring, this forties became a butcher.
“
I stay in cutting meat
,” he quips, before reciting, by heart, the arguments against animal torture.
"
When the bull fights, it secretes beta endorphin and therefore does not feel pain
," he says.
This idea, which is not unanimous within the veterinary community, is nevertheless widely put forward today.
Read alsoCorrida: in the Assembly, the ban on bullfighting is far from unanimous
At the microphone, personalities like the mayor of Bayonne, Jean-René Etchegaray, defend bullfighting, in the face of an assembly already conquered.
A long and rich history, they say, in which Bayonne holds a special place.
In 1853, it was the first city in France to host a "
Spanish
" bullfight, under the eyes of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie.
The economic dimension is not neglected.
Olivier Martin, a bull breeder in the region, is keen to underline this: "
An animal that dies in combat after four years of care, supports 15 people
", he specifies.
Florence Lasserre, MoDem MP for the 5th district of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, wants to be reassuring.
“
None of the six parliamentarians from this department will vote for this text
”, she certifies, before inviting the crowd to move towards the sub-prefecture.
Accompanied by the demonstrators, the deputy tabled a motion there to oppose the bill against bullfighting presented this Thursday, November 24, before the National Assembly.
She calls it a "
threat
" to an "
uninterrupted local tradition
".
Last Saturday, they were about thirty to demonstrate, place Jacques-Portes in Bayonne, against bullfighting.
Raphael Lardeur
At the same time, about a hundred meters away, around thirty bullfighting opponents headed for Place Jacques-Portes.
They answered the call of animal protection associations, L-214 and One Voice, as well as the Animalist Party and France Insoumise.
Between this small group and the compact crowd of the morning, the contrast is striking.
Not enough to discourage the supporters of Aymeric Caron.
In the pouring rain and in front of a few amused passers-by, the demonstrators chant "
corrida basta
", images of bloody bulls in their hands.
For Virginie Sabourin, of the One Voice association, this text is "
historic
".
The anti-species activist, who considers that the lives of animals and that of human beings are of equal importance, criticizes the practice of bullfighting: "
a barbaric custom from another time where the death of a peaceful animal is staged ,
she criticizes
.
The time for abolition has come, society must evolve
”.
Sandra Pereira-Ostanel, LFI municipal councilor in Anglet, quotes figures given regularly by abolitionists.
“
75 to 87% of French people want bullfighting to be banned
,” she points out.
These figures appear in Aymeric Caron's proposal.
“
For the majority of French people, this folklore is neither art nor culture but only torture
”, summarizes the elected Angloye.