Very popular but also considered anarchical and dangerous by the public authorities, Camargue races were banned until the 1850s. Under the influence of his wife, Empress Eugénie de Montijo, Napoleon III authorized them again during his reign. Of Spanish origin, she encouraged the penetration of Spanish bullfighting into France through corrida. The development of bullfighting events made it possible to legalize bull races, and particularly Camargues races, which gradually became more professional.