French lawmakers vote on bullfighting ban

PARIS: French MPS were expected to vote for the first time on whether to ban bullfighting after a national debate that has pitched animal rights’ defenders against fans of the traditional blood sport.

Though public opinion is firmly in favour of outlawing the practice, the Bill is expected to be rejected by a majority of lawmakers who are wary about stirring up the bullfighting heartlands in the south.

There is also a chance that the legislation, proposed by a vegan left-wing lawmaker, fails to be presented for a vote in the National Assembly at the last minute.

“We need to go towards a conciliation, an exchange,” President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, adding that he did not expect the draft law to pass.

“From where I am sitting, this is not a current priority.” His government has urged members of the ruling centrist coalition not to support the text from the opposition France Unbowed party, even though many members are known to personally favour it.

During a first debate on the parliament’s law commission last week, a majority voted against the proposal by MP Aymeric Caron, who slammed the “barbarism” of a tradition imported from Spain in the 1850s.