One March 2023, 20 Minutes had attended a cockfighting evening organized in the village hall of Beuvry-la-Forêt, near Valenciennes, in the North. An immersion of a few hours which allowed us to see that this tradition, extinct in the imagination of ordinary mortals, nevertheless still attracted crowds. But the municipalities authorized to organize these fights are becoming increasingly rare, and even more so since Norrent-Fontes, in Pas-de-Calais, was removed from the list.
It is in a way the administrative court of Lille, in a decision rendered this Thursday, which ratifies the end of cockfighting in Norrent-Fontes. The story dates back to the year 2022, when a resident of the town was authorized by the prefecture to organize such events. Indeed, if cockfighting is prohibited on French territory by the rural code, certain municipalities in Nord and Pas-de-Calais benefit from an exemption if it is established that “the tradition of such gatherings is uninterrupted” . In other words, they have always regularly organized fights.
A twenty-two year gap in tradition
This was the case of Norrent-Fontes, at least until 1999. The court thus noted that “no cockfight took place between 1999 and November 2021”, therefore contravening the condition of uninterrupted tradition. However, at the time, the prefect did not note this inconsistency and authorized the fights.
It was only thanks to a report from the Brigitte Bardot Foundation that the State representative reversed his decision. Especially since in addition to this twenty-two year interruption, the organizer of the fight had created a new gallodrome, which is also prohibited, “the law being designed to lead to the gradual end of cockfighting”, underlined the court.
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The Coqueleux Federation had nevertheless taken legal action against the prefectural decree canceling the authorization to organize fights in Norrent-Fontes. Request rejected by the court whose decision puts an end to this tradition in the municipality.