Thousands Rally in France Against Ban on Bird Hunt, Reports Suggest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Tens of thousands of people marched across France on 18 September against the ban on traditional bird hunting methods, which the country's top administrative court has banned, the BFMTV channel reported, citing police.

The protests, organised by the French National Federation of Hunters, gathered some 12,000 people in Amiens, 9,000 in Redon, 13,000 in Mont-de-Marsan, according to the report.

Xavier Bertrand, a presidential candidate and the head of the Hauts-de-France region, took part in the Amiens’ protest.

"These are rural dwellers who simply want to keep their traditions, their passion," Bertrand told BFMTV.

The French State Council in August banned traditional hunting techniques, such as hunting with nets or bird cages, popular in the southwest of France and other parts of the country, in line with a 2009 EU directive.