Pétanque (French: [petɑ̃k] ⓘ, locally in Provence [peˈtãᵑkə]; Occitan: petanca [peˈtaŋkɔ] ⓘ; Catalan: petanca [pəˈtaŋkə, peˈtaŋka]) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports (along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling).

This is achieved by throwing or rolling boules closer to the small target ball, officially called a jack[2] (French: cochonnet),[3] or by hitting the opponents' boules away from the target, while standing inside a circle with both feet on the ground.

The French name pétanque (borrowed into English, with or without the acute accent) comes from petanca in the Provençal dialect of the Occitan language, deriving from the expression pè tancat [ˈpɛ taŋˈkat], meaning 'foot fixed' or 'foot planted' (on the ground).

Pétanque originally developed as an offshoot or variant of jeu provençal in 1910, in what is now called the Jules Lenoir Boulodrome in the town of La Ciotat near Marseilles.

A former jeu provençal player named Jules Lenoir was afflicted by rheumatism so severe that he could no longer run before throwing a boule.

A good friend named Ernest Pitiot was a local café owner.

In order to accommodate his friend Lenoir, Pitiot developed a variant form of the game in which the length of the pitch or field was reduced by roughly half, and a player, instead of running to throw a boule, stood, stationary, in a circle.

Before the mid-1800s, European boules games were played with solid wooden balls, usually made from boxwood root, a very hard wood.

In France, the Fédération Française de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FFPJP) has over 300,000 licensed members.

Pétanque is actively played in many nations with histories of French colonial influence, especially in Southeast Asia, including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Puducherry in India, as well as some parts of Africa.

Pétanque was featured at the 2015 All-Africa Games hosted by the Republic of the Congo, a former French colony.

In the United States, the Federation of Pétanque USA (FPUSA) reports that about 30,000 play nationwide.

[8] Perhaps the best-known international championship is the Mondial la Marseillaise à Pétanque, which takes place every year in Marseille, France, with more than 10,000 participants and more than 150,000 spectators.

From around 2005, red plastic "prefabricated" circles were introduced and are now widely used in formal games.

If the jack is live but there is an "equidistant boules" situation at the end of the mène, then neither team scores any points.

They must be hollow and made of metal (usually steel) with a diameter between 70.5 and 80 mm (2.78 and 3.15 in) and a weight between 650 and 800 g (23 and 28 oz).

[12] In the past, jacks were often left "natural"—unfinished or with a clear finish—but nowadays they are often painted in bright colours.

In French, the jack is known by a variety of names, including but (goal or target), cochonnet (piglet), bouchon ("little ball" in provençal language, not related to the French word "bouchon" that designates a bung), le petit (the little one), and gari ("rat", also in provençal language).

There is no requirement for backboards or sideboards (as in bocce), but dedicated playing areas are often enclosed in boards or some other structural barrier.

In addition, many towns have recreational facilities (boulodromes) constructed specifically for playing pétanque.

[14] Players who are skilful enough to shoot effectively are called 'shooters' (tireurs); players who usually point are called 'pointers' (pointeurs) As a matter of strategy, pointers play first and shooters are held in reserve in case the opponents place well.