FRANCE:Two French towns have banned bullfighting shows featuring a 10-year-old boy who has caused a sensation in Mexico, local authorities said at the weekend.
The part-French, part-Mexican boy, known as "Michelito", was scheduled to perform at a ring in Fontvieille in southeastern France on Saturday but the local mayor stopped the show, citing security concerns. Organisers tried to reschedule in the Sonailler ring in the city of Arles, but that too was scrapped by district authorities.
Michelito had been due to take part in a becerrada, which involves very young bulls that are not put to death.
Press reports said Michelito had appeared in numerous bullfights in Mexico. The boy's father, who is French, was quoted as saying Michelito was disappointed about the bans because he had trained extensively in bullfighting schools, performs under strict safety conditions and loves what he does.
The Anti-Corrida Alliance (ACA) argued that Michelito's appearance would be dangerous and possibly an infringement of child labour laws. The mayor of Fontvieille said he was acting in order to guarantee the safety of the minor.
Claire Starozinski, president of the ACA, whose complaints triggered the inquiry, said the right decision had been made. "Even if these weren't to be fights to the death, it is still risky to have a child of 30kg coming face to face with an animal of 200kg," she said.
But Michelito, who is said to have killed 60 calves in bullfights in his native country, was less impressed. "I am disappointed," he said. "It's like asking a child who's good at football not to play."
Greeted at the exit of the bullring in Arles by a crowd of aficionados, the young star, still dressed in his embroidered orange matador's outfit, was comforted by a fellow pupil and treated as a martyr to the cause.
Bullfighting is illegal in France under laws banning cruelty to animals. However, in areas deemed to have a tradition of the activity, especially in the south, it is still allowed as an inherent part of local culture.
- (Reuters, Guardian service)