 La Course Camarguaise
Every year Montpellier plays host to the Course Camarguaise bullfight festival. However, this is no ordinary bullfight. The bull is revered and honoured and lives to fight another day.
The festival is immensely popular and the spectators are told the origin and age of the bulls. They watch an impressive spectacle unfurl before their eyes. Runners, dressed in white, display both bravery and dexterity in the ring as they attempt to grasp strings and rosettes from the horns of the charging bulls using special hooks.
The Course Camarguaise is a frightening but exciting game; the runners must jump out of the ring to avoid the bull's horns. It lasts about two hours with six bulls and sixteen runners. At the end of the day, if they are lucky, the runners return home with only a scratch or two and the bulls return to the Camarguais farms. The runners have become local celebrities and particularly courageous runners are awarded a trophy for their skill and agility. They are all very proud and passionate about their part in the event which is an essential element of the local culture.
Links
The Course Camarguaise
Facts about the Camargue, the Course Camarguaise and other elements of the Camarguais and Provençal ways of life. In French and English.
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