La chasse: Why hunting is becoming an election issue in France
With around 1.2 million hunters in France and strong support in many rural areas, politicians in France have long been wary of upsetting the hunting lobby, but the divisive issue appears to have now entered the 2022 election campaign. Here's what people are arguing about.
Who are the hunters?
There are about 1.2 million hunters in France, and together with their supporters and families, they could represent a pool of around five million voters.
There are various different types of hunting including foxhunts on horseback and the controversial 'glue hunting' but the most common type is shooting, when hunters go after a variety of game from deer to birds.
What is the controversy?
There are two main issues with hunting in France - animal cruelty and safety issues.
Every year around 20 people are killed in hunting accidents in France and there are plenty who say that hunters have a cavalier attitude to safety. Some recent cases include cyclists and drivers shot and killed as they passed hunting areas, although the majority of victims each season are hunters themselves.
READ ALSO How to get through the French hunting season without getting shot
In the past week several hunting accidents were given nationwide media coverage, including a walker in the southern Haute-Savoie region and a driver in his 70s outside Rennes in Brittany, who were both badly wounded.
It is these safety concerns that have lead some politicians to propose further regulations including banning hunting at the weekend, when more passers-by are around.
READ ALSO Pistols at dawn: How we dealt with the French hunting season
Who says what?
Environment minister Barbara Pompili said this week that a ban on weekend hunting should be discussed.
"This is part of a long-standing debate on the issue of sharing space and it's an idea that comes up at one point and needs to be debated," Environment Minister Barbara Pompili told France Info radio.
Yannick Jadot, chosen last month by the Europe Ecology - The Greens (EELV) party as its candidate in the presidential elections, said he wanted to ban hunting both at the weekends and during school holidays in a proposal that won wide attention.
"My role as minister responsible for hunting is to ensure that hunting respects a certain number of rules," Pompili said, emphasising that hunting security measures have been reinforced in recent years.
Macron's ruling party "has no desire to ban hunting in one way or another. On the other hand, it must be regulated," she added.
Recent restrictions
Under Macron's government, French authorities have brought in a number of moves to tighten rules on hunting to bring France in line with EU regulations but which have angered hunters.
The State Council, France's highest administrative authority, in August banned popular traditional hunting techniques such as hunting with nets or bird cages, in line with a 2009 EU directive. That followed the banning of glue hunting in June.
La chasse à la glu (glue hunting) is controversial even within France, and refers to a technique of trapping songbirds in glue traps. Around 6,000 people previously took part in this activity.
These changes prompted thousands to protest in September and the government is mulling re-authorising some of these traditional hunts, to the dismay of environmental activists.
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Who are the hunters?
There are about 1.2 million hunters in France, and together with their supporters and families, they could represent a pool of around five million voters.
There are various different types of hunting including foxhunts on horseback and the controversial 'glue hunting' but the most common type is shooting, when hunters go after a variety of game from deer to birds.
What is the controversy?
There are two main issues with hunting in France - animal cruelty and safety issues.
Every year around 20 people are killed in hunting accidents in France and there are plenty who say that hunters have a cavalier attitude to safety. Some recent cases include cyclists and drivers shot and killed as they passed hunting areas, although the majority of victims each season are hunters themselves.
READ ALSO How to get through the French hunting season without getting shot
In the past week several hunting accidents were given nationwide media coverage, including a walker in the southern Haute-Savoie region and a driver in his 70s outside Rennes in Brittany, who were both badly wounded.
It is these safety concerns that have lead some politicians to propose further regulations including banning hunting at the weekend, when more passers-by are around.
READ ALSO Pistols at dawn: How we dealt with the French hunting season
Who says what?
Environment minister Barbara Pompili said this week that a ban on weekend hunting should be discussed.
"This is part of a long-standing debate on the issue of sharing space and it's an idea that comes up at one point and needs to be debated," Environment Minister Barbara Pompili told France Info radio.
Yannick Jadot, chosen last month by the Europe Ecology - The Greens (EELV) party as its candidate in the presidential elections, said he wanted to ban hunting both at the weekends and during school holidays in a proposal that won wide attention.
"My role as minister responsible for hunting is to ensure that hunting respects a certain number of rules," Pompili said, emphasising that hunting security measures have been reinforced in recent years.
Macron's ruling party "has no desire to ban hunting in one way or another. On the other hand, it must be regulated," she added.
Recent restrictions
Under Macron's government, French authorities have brought in a number of moves to tighten rules on hunting to bring France in line with EU regulations but which have angered hunters.
The State Council, France's highest administrative authority, in August banned popular traditional hunting techniques such as hunting with nets or bird cages, in line with a 2009 EU directive. That followed the banning of glue hunting in June.
La chasse à la glu (glue hunting) is controversial even within France, and refers to a technique of trapping songbirds in glue traps. Around 6,000 people previously took part in this activity.
These changes prompted thousands to protest in September and the government is mulling re-authorising some of these traditional hunts, to the dismay of environmental activists.
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