Letters: Walking in France is impossible due to hunters
Connexion reader says he has given up as it is 'just not worth the risk'
For some hikers, walking doesn't feel as though it is a safe pastime in France
Master1305/Shutterstock
To the Editor,
Your article on walking in France covers the subject well, with one surprising omission: chasseurs.
My wife and I have now entirely given up walking in the country in the hunting season so often have we run up against chasseurs. We would decide on a walk, pack up our rucksacks and then either come up against a ‘chasse en cours’ notice, or, much more often, find a lot of parked cars at the start of our walk and hear shots in the distance.
We stopped doing it. It’s not worth the risk.
It seems amazing to us that at least one hunt-free day a week cannot be left to walkers. I seem to remember that someone in the Assemblée suggested this a year or so ago and was denounced as ‘elitist’ by the president of the Fédération National des Chasseurs. Is walking an activity for the elite?
According to the Fédération Française de la Randonnée there are 27 million people in France who identify walking as a major or occasional activity. There are around a million licensed chasseurs.
Jon Lewis, by email
Are you worried by the presence of hunters? Do you believe there should be a hunt-free day? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com
