A tragedy narrowly avoided in Montivilliers, at the Franco-Belge Circus. One Voice files a complaint
At the beginning of August 2025, vacationers and residents of Montivilliers shopping in the commercial zone of this Normandy town were ordered to return immediately to their cars or enter the stores: three tigers were no longer in their cages, two of which were playing by the side of the road. Too busy fighting over a piece of plastic, they did not realize they were “free”. The third was wandering around, not far from the camels…
Irresponsibility as a way of life
A deadly danger awaited them all. The humans, of course, because these big cats, even though young and docile, are still wild animals and large predators. Although they do not know how to hunt, their instinct remains, and a “game” of chase, for example, could very quickly end badly.
If they had jumped over the barrier of barely 1.2 meters that separated them from the road, the situation could have ended tragically. With stretchers and ambulances for some, and guns and a knacker’s truck for others, as Mévy sadly experienced not so long ago in Paris.
Animal misery, a goldmine for circus owners
In the neighboring cage, a lioness paces back and forth in the presence of a male and appears to be expecting a litter, despite the legal ban on breeding in traveling circuses passed in 2021.
Intimidation, a modus operandi…
Yet this is an everyday scene for the Franco-Belge Circus, which has established itself on site without any authorization and plans to remain in this commercial zone until August 17.
On social media, circus performers downplay the situation for which they are responsible and, as usual, message those who denounce it to threaten them.
Our complaint is currently being drafted
One Voice is once again filing a complaint against the trainer and owner of the Franco-Belge Circus, Serge Muller, and is requesting the urgent seizure of all the animals.
We sincerely thank the witnesses who alerted us to this situation for their reports, and we call on the general public to join us in this fight against the captivity, exploitation, transport, and training of animals, both wild and domestic.