History of "Petanque"

It would be in 1908 that a certain Jules dis “Le noir” invented “PĂ©tanque” in La Ciotat near Marseille.

  • 60 BC

    Although pĂ©tanque is a recent invention, the history of the “game of boules” goes back to the highest ancient civilizations (Egypt, Greece, Rome and even... Gaul).

    The balls were first made of clay, stone, then wood and finally steel. Our ancestors the Gauls will quickly adopt the boules games offered by their Roman neighbors, but the barbarian invasions will stop these simple pleasures for a long time, from the 3rd to the 10th century. 

  • Renaissance

    With the crusades, the people took every opportunity to play boules. The Renaissance will be the golden age of boules, a game requiring skill, technicality and self-control. Medicine will even underline the benefits, so much so that the nobility will end up prohibiting this game to the people, until the night of August 4,1789 which sees the abolition of privileges and the passion for balls will very quickly regain its rights. It was at the end of the 18th century that the great history of boules began...

IT IS AT THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY THAT THE GREAT HISTORY OF BALLS BEGINS...

Born in the region of Lyon, “Lyonnaise” became a sport in 1850 with the creation of the first official company “le Clos Jouve”.

In 1906 the Lyonnaise and Regional Federation was founded, then in 1933 the National Federation of Boules, which became the French Federation in 1942.

In the 19th century, while the balls of Lyon were rolling, the people of the South became passionate about the “long” or “Jeu Provençal” which required the same qualities but the rules were simplified and the choice of courts was free.

  • WHO IS THE INVENTOR OF PETANQUE?

    The Provençal game gave birth to pĂ©tanque in 1907, during the historic game in La Ciotat where Jules Hugues, known as “Lenoir”, no longer able to play his favorite game because of his rheumatism, drew a circle to send the goal to 5-6 m, and “tanked feet”, threw his boules to get closer to the jack... pĂ©tanque was born!

    However, it was not until the first official competition in La Ciotat in 1910 that the word "petanque" was made official.

  • WHAT DOES THE WORD "PÉTANQUE" MEAN ?

    The origin of the word "petanque" comes from the Occitan Provençal, "pé" for "foot" and "tanca" for "pile", giving "to play petanque" or even "pés tanqués", that is to say with the feet together and anchored on the ground, as opposed to the Provençal game where the player can gain momentum.

    In 1927, it was codified, and it was in 1945 that the FFPJP was born.

Birth of "La Mariole"

It was in 2010 that Sébastien Magnan and his friends played their first game of soft bowls in an apartment after a well-watered meal. At the time, they had used pairs of socks as pétanque balls and a wine bottle cork as a jack.

In 2012, juggling balls had replaced the socks and they began to divert the rules of traditional pétanque by playing on tables, sofas, chairs, using the walls to get closer to the jack. La Mariole was born!

  • 2013

    This practice has spread throughout France and beyond the borders by word of mouth. Several indoor petanque tournaments have emerged with popular enthusiasm. We even know that the first all-terrain petanque tournament was organized by a certain Martin Antonietti in Canada in Montreal in 2013.

    Since then, and after many wild games, the idea of ​​improving the concept and sharing it with as many people as possible has made its way.

  • 2018

    And it was in 2018 that "La Mariole" as a real discipline was officially born with soft balls specially dedicated to this game and intended for the greatest number.

    Who knows how far this story will go thanks to all of us?

    And why not one day see a MARIOLE world championship appear!?

Because above all we need more happy people: “They lived as children and made many people happy”.

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