PARIS (AP) — The French Constitutional Council has upheld the right to host bullfights in parts of France. It rejected a legal challenge by two animal rights groups against a practice that advocates say is part of some regions’ cultural heritage.

Opponents had sought to ban bullfighting based on France’s criminal code that forbids cruelty to animals. But the legal text also allows for exceptions in the case where such events can be shown to be part of local tradition.