Pétanque

Pétanque, a southern tradition

If you too would like to pay tribute to this southern tradition, we invite you to visit our pétanque court, where you can share a friendly moment while admiring the view of the Mediterranean. During the summer period, our facilitation team hosts weekly pétanque tournaments. Don’t miss this friendly competition!

A must in Provence, this famous game of boules originated in Gaul in ancient times. It has since evolved, and the clay balls, which have now become steel balls, are thrown all over France. However, this pieds tanqués (anchored feet) tradition was born in the South, in La Ciotat. The original Provençal game consisted of throwing the balls after having taken three steps to gain momentum. But at the dawn of the 20th century, Jules Hugues, known as Lenoir, was suffering from rheumatism. He drew a circle, threw the target 5-6 metres away, and with his pieds tanqués (feet anchored) in the ground, threw the balls to reach the cochonnet target ball. Rules were then established to define the game, and thus pétanque was born.
Whether your style is to shoot or point, don’t be Fanny! That is, get a final score of 13-0. This expression originates from a time when scoring zero had some advantages. Explanation: in the 19th century, Fanny, a young lady from the Croix-Rousse district in Lyon, used to console the loser of the game of boules in Lyon. She took him aside and pulled up her dress to show him her buttocks: what a lucky loser! This is how the expression ‘being Fanny’ came about.