the presence of the group Shaka Ponk divides after its controversial comments on bullfighting

“Bullfighting is an abomination […] and the elected officials and local entrepreneurs who allow this aberration to continue in the arenas of Nîmes are torturers”, declares on his Instagram account, Frah, the singer of the group Shaka Ponk. The French rock band is scheduled to perform in concert at the Nîmes arenas on June 14, as part of the Nîmes festival.

A presence now contested since this video published Tuesday while a petition was launched by young aficionados to request the cancellation of the group’s concert. This Sunday, she collected 1,900 signatures. In the process, another petition, this time to support Shaka Ponk, was created at the initiative of the Alliance Anticorrida collective, with more than 19,000 signatures currently.

The reaction of local elected officials

For their part, the elected officials, singled out by the singer, also reacted. Julien Plantier, the first deputy of the city of Nîmes, wrote a letter to Frah that France Bleu Gard Lozère was able to consult. He refutes his remarks: “No, we elected representatives from Nîmes from the municipal majority […] we are not torturers. Bullfighting is not an abomination or an aberration.and the chosen one concludes: “We bet that in the future, you will be able to express more respect to the people of Nîmes, to the traditions, as well as to those who allow you to perform in such a setting.”