The Origins of Pétanque
Before pétanque became the popular sport we know today, a very different game was played in Provence: la longue. This game was played on a pitch measuring 15 to 21 metres – a larger area where players had to execute their moves with precision.
Jules Hugues, known as ‘Lenoir’, a shopkeeper from La Ciotat and champion of this Provençal sport, was no longer able to play due to his rheumatism and was reduced to being a mere spectator.
Ernest Pitiot, the owner of the nearby café and a one-legged man who shared the same passion as Mr Lenoir, invited him to play a game with a twist: with feet firmly planted on the ground within a circle, throwing the ball from a distance of 6–10 metres.
This scene took place on the boules court belonging to the café “La Boule étoilée”. The owners decided to formalise the rules of this new game: pétanque.
However, it was not until the first official competition in 1910 at La Ciotat that the word was officially recognised.
