Nîmes festival: the presence of the Shaka Ponk group is divisive after her controversial comments on bullfighting

“Bullfighting is an abomination (…) and the elected officials and local businessmen who allow this aberration to continue in the arenas of Nîmes are torturers”, declares Shaka Ponk singer Frah on his Instagram account. The French rock band is scheduled to play a concert at the Nîmes Arenas on June 14 as part of the Nîmes Festival.

The presence has now been called into question since the video was released on Tuesday, while young enthusiasts have launched a petition to cancel the band’s concert. This Sunday, she collected 1,900 signatures. In this process, another petition was created at the initiative of the Alliance Anticorrida collective, this time in support of Shaka Ponka, which currently has more than 19,000 signatures.

Reaction of local elected officials

For their part, the chosen ones, selected by the singer, also responded. Julien Plantier, first deputy of the city of Nîmes, wrote a letter to Frah that France Bleu Gard Lozère could consult. He refutes his remarks: “No, we elected representatives of Nîmes from the urban majority (…) 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 show more respect to the people of Nîmes, the traditions and also those who allow you to perform in such an environment.”