The weekly “Semana Grande” revealed all the statistics for the 2024 season in France. If the increase in attendance over the past year is confirmed, the number of shows organized is stagnating.
Marc Lavie, the editor-in-chief of “Semana Grande”, the only bullfighting weekly in France and Spain, published a large file containing all the statistics for the 2024 season in its number 1432 published on October 28. A season, which will not leave an unforgettable memory on an artistic level, but the statistical analysis is always revealing of the dynamics of bullfighting professionals.
97 major shows as in 2023
If the bullfighting world welcomes the good dynamic in attendance over the past year, it has not yet translated into an increase in the number of shows. Indeed, 97 major shows were organized as in 2023 with 61 bullfights, 30 novilladas piqués and 6 “rejon”. That is to say a number almost equivalent to before Covid (101). Figures which remain far from the record years when 89 bullfights took place in 1983. The next temporadas will be decisive in regaining progress by capitalizing on the resurgence of the public which could encourage organizers to add shows to their ferias or reopen new arenas (Pérols, Palavas…) as Mauguio has done since 2023.
Castella, Luque and El Rafi on the podium
Concerning the bullfighters, Sébastien Castella achieved the greatest number of paseos in France (14 for 17 ears) and Daniel Luque (20 ears) and El Rafi (10 ears) complete the podium with 11 contracts. The top 10 is completed by Clemente (10 bullfights, 20 ears), Morenito de Aranda (7 bullfights, 9 ears) and three bullfighters completed 6 paseos: Christian Parejo (12 ears), Alejandro Talavante (9 ears) and Dorian Canton ( 3 ears). Fernando Adrian, Andres Roca Rey and the French Adriano follow them with 5 dates.
The other French bullfighters display the following statistics in France: 4 paseos for Carlos Olsina (5 ears), 3 for Juan Leal and Solal (6 ears each), 2 for Thomas Joubert (3 ears), Yon Lamothe (1 ear) and Tibo Garcia (0 ears) and one for Maxime Solera and Andy Younes (0 ears).
Lea Vicens and Nino Julian, leaders of their escalafon
The escalafon of piqué novilladas in France is led by Nino Julian (11 novilladas, 10 ears) and the podium is completed by Samuel Navalon and Lalo de Maria (5 ears) with five paseos. Finally, as for the bullfighters on horseback, Lea Vicens is in the lead with 7 paseos (10 ears) followed by Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza (4 bullfights) and his son Guillermo and Diego Ventura who obtained two contracts in France.
French irons popular in novillada
Two ganaderias popular with figuras have held the most bullfights in France with VIctoriano del Rio (34 toros, 3 vueltas) and Jandilla (28 toros, 1 vuelta) followed by La Quinta (24 toros, 2 vueltas). The French breeding farms of Pagès-Mailhan (23 toros, two vueltas) and Margé (22 toros, 1 vuelta) complete the top 5. We will also note the confidence placed by the organizers in the French ganaderos for the novilladas since Valverde appears at the top of the list. escalafon (13 novillos, 1 vuelta) and the irons of Gallon (1 vuelta), Piedras Rojas (1 vuelta) are in the top 5 with 7 novillos.
Finally, three toros were pardoned with “Broncista” by Juan Pedro Domecq by Enrique Ponce (Istres, June 16), “Delicado” by Santiago Domecq (August 15 in Dax) and “Neptune” by Robert Margé (August 18 in Béziers) pardoned three days apart by the same Clemente.
