Loire. “A sport that encourages you to age less”: why is pétanque so popular?

The important thing in pétanque is not to kiss Fanny (concede a 13-0 defeat). A stinging thrashing like the double bicycle kick in tennis (6/0, 6/0). La Ciotat, the birthplace of this discipline in 1907, exported this practice.

The Mistral has brought this art of playing back to the forefront throughout France. So much so that today Toulouse has more courts (101) than Reims (86) and Marseille (77). Saint-Étienne (69) is just outside the podium, just ahead of Paris (67). Declared the world's first inclusive game, this leisure activity has become popular.

In the Loire, there are 73 clubs with 3,510 members (to date). These figures are "increasing in real time," according to Michèle Roux, president of the Loire departmental pétanque committee. Including school licenses and non-affiliated recreational practice, in 2019, the...

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