Pétanque World Championship (Mondial La Marseillaise à Pétanque) 2024 in Provence & French Riviera

The hot Mediterranean coast of France is home to pétanque, a game so physically easy to play that you can do it while sipping pastis and enjoying the sea breeze. The locals love pétanque and you can see them playing on every corner in every little town. It's also arguably the most democratic game in the world because your physical shape is absolutely unimportant. Anybody can play pétanque. All you need is two boules and a good company. Originally it was invented to allow people with disabilities to take part on equal terms. It's also the game in which the French are always the best. Annually in July the world championship (Mondial La Marseillaise à Pétanque) takes place in Marseille. Despite the fact that it's a game and the participants are competitors it's still very companionable. People talk to each other while playing without any will to beat up one another. It's easy to learn so if you see a group of people playing you can ask to join and try to feel the spirit of this classic provençal game.