What way out of the crisis to perpetuate the novilladas of Beaucaire ?

Scattered stands and controversies for the last Feria de Beaucaire. Midi Libre – Axel Dumond

Unsurprisingly, the Feria de Beaucaire was disappointing both in terms of artistic and attendance. The war between the professionals and Thierry Cazaubon, the representative of the organizer, the Beaucaire bullfighting association, occupied all the discussions and the interests of bullfighting were too often forgotten. This Tuesday, the associations of French and Spanish matadors and subalterns published another press release in response to that of the organization.

In a press release last week, Thierry Cazaubon, representative of the Beaucaire organizers, asked the bullfighting professionals to apologize for their accusation, threatening them with a complaint and challenging them to produce documents providing proof of their claims.

The new press release from the bullfighting professionals 

The response from the associations of French and Spanish matadors, picadors and banderilleros was not long in coming through yet another press release this Tuesday. « At the invitation of Mr. Cazaubon, we are making public the attestation of the UNPBE relating to certain complaints of which he is the subject in Spain and to the instructions of current cases. The French and Spanish bullfighter associations thank all other French organizers for their respect for the rights of our profession and remind them that they can benefit from a 25% bonus on salaries when ;this is a virtuous organization, for the piqué novilladas and non-pique novilladas of the 3rd category arenas.

The professional associations conclude their press release with a dig worthy of the best picadors: « to every rule, there must, it seems, be an exception: this is the role that Mr. Cazaubon chose to the detriment of the Association Taurine Beaucairoise (ATB) ».

This war between the ATB representative and the matadors and subordinates never seems to end after these multiple press releases. Everyone has understood that Thierry Cazaubon did not respect the customs of the profession in Beaucaire, which does not mean, fundamentally, that it is reprehensible in relation to French law. If the certificate from the lawyer of the Spanish associations, Mr. Antonio José Martinez Marcos, confirms the complaints filed against the organizer, it also says that they are currently being investigated. No judicial conviction has therefore been handed down to this date.

Inability to dialogue between the parties

This war should rather be settled before the Courts or the Industrial Tribunal if offences are established as the professionals claim. The inability to dialogue and find a compromise has made bullfighting and the Beaucaire bullring, which had the merit of organising a second novillada in 2024, the main victims.

Three of the six scheduled novilleros have withdrawn and the performance of the picadors and banderilleros has been widely criticised while the bullrings have not had satisfactory attendance.

Very negative images are already circulating on anti-bullfighting social networks with a banderillero trying to pummel a toro from the callejon while his novillero had listened to a third opinion. A deplorable sequence and far removed from the respect demanded by aficionados towards the toro. Between these images and the content of the press releases, this crisis will have consequences on bullfighting because of the inability of the two parties to dialogue while bullfighting has been experiencing a revival for two years.

The new Mayor of Beaucaire, Nelson Chaudon, therefore inherits a very sensitive issue to find a solution and perpetuate bullfighting in Beaucaire because it is unthinkable to relive such a situation in 2025 .

Extracts from the certificate of the union of Spanish banderilleros and picadors (UBPE)

The professional bullfighting associations sent the certificate dated October 13, 2023 from the union of Spanish banderilleros and picadors UBPE drawn up by its lawyer, Me Antonio José Martinez Marcos

“Thierry Cazaubon, director of the company Poderosa SAS, has publicly demonstrated, on numerous occasions, his desire not to respect the regulatory standards of the bullfighting sector, to the point of contesting the national bullfighting collective agreement before the Spanish institutions on June 6, 2023, without his claims being successful.

This association, which represents almost all Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mexican and Colombian picadors and banderilleros participating in the European temporada, was able to observe in shows organized by Mr. Cazaubon in Aignan and Alès in 2022. In May 2022, it filed complaints with the monitoring, vigilance and control commission of this agreement highlighting irregularities in the payment of salaries and social security contributions.

Other irregularities were noted in Beaucaire in the organization of the novillada of July 30, 2023. Complaints were also filed for the organization of shows in Spain by Mr. Cazaubon during the 2023 season under the cover of a new company “Emilivia espectaculos SL” in Burgo de Osma and Vitigudino. Complaints that are currently being investigated.