A Spanish troupe of dwarf bullfighters have taken their act to France after their home country banned such shows on the grounds that they encouraged mockery of disabled people.

Thursday night's show by the troupe, called "Diversiones en el Ruedo" ("Bullfighting Fun") in the 650-seat arena at Tethieu, a village of 850 people close to the Spanish border, was sold out.

Unlike regular bullfights, the performance did not result in injuries or death for the participating animals.

Instead, the performers presented sketches and skits in various costumes, and sometimes involving small cows, sparking laughs and applause.

Spain's parliament banned such shows as of April on the grounds that dwarfs dressing up as bullfighters, or as firefighters, for the amusement of the crowd were being "used to provoke mockery, ridicule and derision".

Spain based its ruling on European Union directives concerning discrimination against disabled people.

But the performers themselves dismissed the reasoning. 

"It's a comical show, there's no blood and no killing, just parody," said Daniel Calderon, leader of the 11-person troupe.

He said dwarfism had been used "as a pretext by people who just don't like bullfighting" to justify the Spanish ban.

Another member of the cast known as the "comical bullfighters", 31-year-old Paul Munoz wearing a sequined costume, called Spain's stance "unfair", saying the performers themselves had never been consulted on the ban.

"We love what we do, it's our job," he said.

Mika Romero, the troupe's French representative, added: "The real discrimination is to deprive them of their livelihood."

But Violette Viannay, president of the "French Little People's Association" said such shows were "counter-productive" in the struggle for better integration of people with dwarfism into the rest of society.

"It's not just a question of size," she said. "Dwarfism is a condition created by rare illnesses," she said.

The French government minister in charge of disability, Fadila Khattabi, told AFP that it was "problematic to consider dwarfism as a source of entertainment".

Discrimination of dwarfs was "centuries old" and had to end, she said.

"We must, together and urgently, change this kind of representation," she said.

The minister said she preferred instead to focus on what she called the "superb performance" by French athletes at the World Dwarf Games in Germany, the largest international sporting event for athletes with dwarfism which ends on Saturday.

cas/jh/sjw/yad