The showdown is here to stay. And each party is determined to go blow for blow. While the city of Nice launched an hourly summary, from Monday, to have the Zavatta circus expelled from land where it illegally settled at the start of the week, the circus artists also announce that they have taken legal action. .
“I asked our lawyer to file a complaint for held by Anthony Borré, according to which we mutilate our animals”, explained John Zavatta to 20 minutes, confirming information from France Bleu azur. The lyrics in question were broadcast on Tuesday on BFM Nice Côte d’Azur. “This circus is not worthy of the animal condition because there is a hippopotamus and lions who had their claws removed in order to play,” said the first deputy mayor of Nice.
“The real clowns are them”
This Wednesday morning on Twitter, the mayor of Nice also accused the circus. “How can we accept such animal abuse, he asked in a post accompanied by a photo. Jumbo, the hippopotamus, transported in a semi-trailer, which bathes in a basin of water. Never in Nice. »
“I can’t let myself be insulted. We have all the certificates, further details John Zavatta with 20 minutes. We even asked for a new inspection this Wednesday, even though a report from the veterinary services, which had already come to check us last week in Cannes, is positive”. And to bid: “Christian Estrosi appeared at the Cirque de Monte-Carlo, which has wild animals a few days ago. The real clowns are no longer us, they are them. I’m going to end up asking him if he wants to come and have a burlesque tour under our marquee”.
By settling on a plot belonging to the Public Development Establishment (EPA) of the Plaine du Var and managed by the city of Nice on Monday morning, the Zavatta circus claimed a coup de force to “have a reaction”, to “burst the abscess”. “We have been writing to the mayor of Nice to be able to perform here since September, without any response from him. He refuses us on the pretext that we have wild animals, whereas the law authorizes us to do so, ”explained John Zavatta.
A first performance scheduled for Saturday
“I don’t want to allow you to occupy the city of Nice,” replied Christian Estrosi during a tough exchange, on the spot, Monday afternoon. The city, which is also claiming financial compensation for the damage suffered, bases itself on its own decree signed in 2020 which prohibits circuses with non-domestic animals while a law published in the Official Journal in 2021 does not provide for their prohibition until 2028. .
“It’s not good what we did. But behind, we have to live well. We have a business to run, people to feed, ”said John Zavatta, recalling that his circus was increasingly coming up against the refusal of communities to welcome them.
Pending a decision from the Nice administrative court, officials of the Zavatta circus have begun to install their equipment and deploy their marquee for a first performance on Saturday, they say. “There will also be every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday,” says John Zavatta.