The Birth of Pétanque

If the jeu de boules (game of bowls) dates back to the times of the Pharaohs, the game of pétanque is only 90 years old.

The anecdote which follows has had its authenticity confirmed; this is to let you know the circumstances which contributed to its creation in 1907.

At La Ciotat in the south of France, an important shipping port, players of la longue (bocce), a provincial game of the area, used to meet on a ground in the vicinity of the town to play their favourite game.

Jules Le Noir, a former champion of la longue (bocce), who suffered from chronic rheumatism, was the only player to be allowed to sit on a chair to watch the game when he was not playing.

One Sunday, the game took too long to finish. Jules Le Noir, with a few boules in his hand, was pointing and shooting at a distance of two to three metres.

"What are you doing? "Ernest Pitiot (one of the players) asked.
"I am just killing time."
"It looks fun. What about drawing a circle? We will set a limit of three metres and play within the circle."
"Does this suit you?"
"Let’s try", Jules said.

Providing Jules Le Noir didn’t have to balance on one leg to throw the boule or move three steps forward to aim, he retained the excellent skills he always had.

The match between Pitiot and Le Noir attracted a lot of people, amongst them Father Aubrey, a champion of la longue (bocce), who decided to try this new pastime.

Over the next few months, this new game was played, with the rules constantly changing, till one day Ernest Pitiot’s brother organised a competition in 1910. Eight teams, of two players each, took part. The success of that first competition was so great that other competitions took place with more and more players.

LA PÉTANQUE WAS BORN!

The game of pétanque was promoted from town to town very rapidly by the navigators and fishermen of the region. You know the rest.

One plate commemorating the creation of this game is on a wall surrounding the ground and is dated 1910. The ground has actually been renamed the Ground of Pieds Tanqués (joined feet).