This happened after strong lobbying both from groups pro and against bullfighting . FrenchNewsOnline gives a very informative report on the issue, below is an excerpt:
"The drive to win protection through UNESCO, began on December 13, 2009, when the Union of French Bullfighting Cities (UVTF) applied for recognition by UNESCO of French bullfighting culture as part of the country’s intangible heritage. UVTF claimed that “bullfighting is based on respect for the bull’s genetic heritage, a beast which by virtue of its role in the local pastoral eco-system helps preserve many other types of animals."Look at the following websites (listed on FrenchNewsOnline) in case you are in doubt whether this was a good move. All I can think now is that bullfighting is not very intangible from the bull's point of view!
Pro bullfighting:
Le Club Taurin Mouriesen
All the bullfight arenas in France, including Arles
Fans of the corrida
Against bullfighting:
Cas International
Stop Corrida
and Stop Bullfighting
How wonderfully controversial! And this comes on the heels of various bans on bullfighting in Spain (where you might expect it to be listed ICH) http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/07/28/spain-catalonia-bullfightingb-ban.html
ReplyDeleteBy the way Renata (and co.), loving the blog. Keep up the good work! :)
Cheers,
Dan
Controversial is a mild way of putting it! Thanks, Dan, please do come by more often, we are following your blog too.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed quite relevant to compare it to the bans.