Since Monday, the tension has not subsided. Quite the contrary. The two parties are now preparing their weapons in preparation for the hearing scheduled for Friday afternoon before the Nice court. The town hall and the Public Land Establishment (EPF) Paca, manager and owner of the land where the Zavatta-Muller circus illegally set up on Monday morning to the west of the city, will demand its expulsion.
At the same time, the elected officials and the circus people are tormented over the living conditions of the animals, including a hippopotamus and about fifteen big cats, which are part of the shows presented by the circus. In this regard, a defamation complaint must also be filed against the first deputy mayor of Nice. 20 minutes takes stock of this whole affair.
When did the tensions start?
After a shortened stay in Cannes, where he ended up being no longer welcome – because of his wild animals, the circus Zavatta (formerly Muller) came to settle without right or title on land in the west of Nice . It was Monday a little before 10 o’clock, south of the commercial area of Lingostière. The convoy passed a gate which was not locked, according to the Circassians, but which was damaged “unintentionally when it closed when a truck was backing up”. “It’s not good what we did, we are aware of it. But behind, we have to live well. We have a business to run, people to feed, “justified Franck Muller, said John Zavatta, explaining that the mayor of Nice refused them, like more and more communities, to settle in town.
This assumed coup, which is not the first for the circus, was imagined to “burst the abscess”, to “have a reaction”, he specifies. And there was a reaction, but not really to the advantage of the circus and its leaders. Christian Estrosi tumbled in the afternoon and “intimated them the instruction” to leave the premises during a tough encounter. Accused of being a “dictator” and of not respecting the law by preventing them from performing, the mayor considers himself to be in his right based on a municipal decree signed in 2020 which prohibits shows with animals wild.
Why is Nice talking about “saving Jumbo and his wild companions”?
A law published in Official newspaper in 2021 plans to ban in itinerant establishments “the detention, transport and shows including non-domestic animal species” from December 2028. But Christian Estrosi, like other mayors, wants to anticipate this ban. “You too are outlaws,” John Zavatta told him. Is the by-law valid? It has in any case passed the control of legality of the prefecture. Asked about the substance of the subject, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes refers “to the legal procedures which are there to say the law”.
In the meantime, the mayor of Nice is attacking the circus over the living conditions of its animals. “How can we accept such abuse? “asked the mayor on Twitter in a post accompanied by a photo of “Jumbo, the hippopotamus, transported in a semi-trailer” and “which bathes in a basin of water”. And to be firm: “Never in Nice”. A petition initiated by the city was even posted online this Thursday, calling for “saving Jumbo and his wild companions”. The first deputy mayor Anthony Borré also declared on BFM Nice Côte d’Azur that “this circus” was “not worthy of the animal condition”, in particular because “lions had their claws removed in order to be able to play” . A statement that makes Circassians jump. John Zavatta announced on Wednesday the launch of defamation proceedings. “I can’t let myself be insulted,” he replied. We have all the certificates [et] a report from the veterinary services […] positive. »
Has a defamation complaint been filed?
Solicited by 20 minutes, the Nice prosecutor’s office was not aware of any defamation complaint on Thursday. Re-examined, the person in charge of the circus specifies that his lawyer was awaiting the new conclusions of a veterinarian, called on the spot on his initiative. “The file is ready to attack” and “the complaint will be filed”, he finally reassured 20 minutes. At the same time, the position of the town hall is mocked on social networks on which a photo, taken only a few days ago, shows Christian Estrosi with his family at the Cirque de Monte-Carlo, which itself welcomes wild animals.
Can the circus be expelled?
However, since the illegal arrival of the circus on Monday morning, the municipality of Nice and the EPF Paca have also taken legal action. In several ways. In addition to a complaint for “breaking and entering” on their land and requests for compensation, the community and the public establishment have “assigned the circus before the judge in chambers of the judicial court with a view to its expulsion under penalty” , said their lawyer Me Simon Daboussy. A hearing is scheduled for Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Nice courthouse.
Under this so-called “hour to hour” procedure, if the judge agrees with the plaintiffs, the circus would be liable to fines each day following the decision where it would remain on the ground. The Circassians, who have installed their equipment and their marquee, hope to be able to give a first performance on Saturday. Case to follow.