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Camargue has long been a source of fascination for travellers to the Rhone delta in southern France, with its wide open spaces where wild horses have roamed for centuries and the glamour of the Riviera to the West has been resolutely kept at bay.

It is also the home of a unique form of bull fighting that, unlike its Spanish counterpart, does not result in killing. It involves a strange dance between man and beast where both can achieve star status, and continues to fascinate many in the region and beyond.

And yet this extraordinary culture that has shaped

the aesthetic and imagination of the South of France is under threat – from regulation, environmental change and, in the eyes of those at the heart of it, our collective demand for a sanitised version of culture.

This book ( +exhibition) showcases the fascinating world of the ‘manadiers’, the men and women on horseback who raise the wild bulls of Camargue and stage the extraordinary spectacles of the bull races.

Photographers Roger Job and Gaëlle Henkens not only beautifully capture the essence of this ancient culture, but through stunning imagery and thoughtful commentary, raise some very real questions about our modern definitions of authenticity, heritage and nature itself.

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Camargue, gardians d'avenir

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