etnobofin

Canadians have hockey, Americans have little league, New Zealanders have barefoot beach rugby, the English have rainy weekends in Brighton.  But if you want to evoke the sun-kissed childhood of a French person from the south, just mention toro-piscine.

La toro-piscine was a summer amusement for kids in southern France long before skateboarding and the roller coaster, and seems to remain today a distinctive and well-loved part the culture of the region.

From the Camargue westwards, bull sports are popular across the south. Most towns and many villages have their own purpose-built arènes. There’s la corrida (real bulls and real death), la course camarguaise, (real bulls but no death) various runnings of the bulls, and la toro-piscine (young cows, silly games and prizes for the kids).

Last night I went to the toro-piscine at Palavas with my landlady and her cousins from northern Alsace, who like me had never been to a bullring before. Palavas is a beachside town near Montpellier, with funfairs, cheesy souvenir shops and an overpriced revolving restaurants in a tower – a little like Blackpool, but with sunshine.  And, like most southern resort towns, Palavas runs bulls during the summer season.

Cows (les vachettes) and the game equipment are provided by the arena, but the competitors are volunteers from the crowd, who play individually in teams for prizes. In the centre of the arena is a pool, (hence piscine), and one of the classic games involves coaxing the vachette to chase you across the pool. There is real danger, real tension and real laughs.

At the end of the evening, a bull, wearing a bell around his neck is trotted out to “collect” his vachette. Sometimes the vachette is eager to depart the ring, and sometimes she’s reluctant – as if she’s had too much fun with her human friends to bother with her boyfriend.

Here’s a 2-minute highlights reel: