🕒 Article published on August 17, 2025
✅ Updated on August 17, 2025
The Southeast has long dominated French pétanque. Marseille, Nice, the Var: these territories concentrated champions and titles. Henri Lacroix embodies this tradition of excellence. Dylan Rocher too. Hegemony that seemed eternal. Yet, The 2025 championships upset this geography. New territories are essential in the elite. And New Aquitaine is part of this silent revolution.
Final 2025: Southeast under pressure!
In 2025, the field results confirmed that the elite was distributed far beyond Provence and the Côte d’Azur. Among men, the final of the French championships in triplets in Pontorson opposed the Var to the Landes. Net Victory of the Var (13-5), but the presence of the Landes confirms the rise in power of New Aquitaine.
Among women, the title went downright in the Rhône: Vaulx-en-Velin won 13-7 against the Varoises Cindy Peyrot, Anna Maillard and Sandrine Poinsot. Two results showing that The best players no longer come only from the southeast.
Shooting during the French Championship 2025 © FFPJP / P.Mroche
At the French Youth Championships played in triplet in Saint-Yrieix (Charente), La Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur confirmed its know-how by winning the titles in minimal and cadets. But Victory in juniors escaped southeast : The triplet led by Ayvenn Hivin (Île-de-France) and Mathéo Brunet (Grand Est) won. Proof that the best young people no longer come only from PACA.
Final of the French junior 2025 championship
The 2025 France team, more diverse than ever
The 2025 selection illustrates the New geography of French pétanque.
On the male side, there are emblematic figures of the south-east like Henri Lacroix (La Seyne-sur-Mer, Var) or Dylan Rocher (Draguignan, Var), but also players from elsewhere. Jean Feltain, licensed in Gironde, embodies theEmergence of the Great West. Alongside them: Christophe Sarrio (Rhône), World Champion Doublette, Mickaël Bonetto (Alpes-Maritimes), Ludovic Montoro (Alpes-Maritimes), Stéphane Robineau (Indre-et-Loire) and David Doerr (Loire). The men’s team is therefore mainly from the southeast, but completed by profiles from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the center and the southwest.
Dylan Rocher in the French team against Tunisia. 13-0 victory © Pauce / FFPJP
Among women, regional diversity is even more marked. Audrey Bandiera is from Aveyron, Aurélie Bories de la Lozère, Caroline Bourriaud evolves in Finistère, Charlotte Darodes comes from Charente-Maritime, Ludivine Lovet of Indre-et-Loire, Nelly Peyré du Var and Alexia Pinto de la Drôme. Several of them were one of the 2023 champion or vice-championess teams, confirming that the female elite is built far beyond the traditional borders of the Southeast.
This composition shows that The national team is no longer only carried by Provence or the Côte d’Azur. Players from Finistère, champions from the Loire or the Gironde now complete the southern framework. The France 2025 team thus reflects the deep transformation of pétanque.
More than 300,000 in the country
At the national level, the French Federation of Pétanque and Provencal play (FFPJP) exceeded 302,000 licensees in 2025, a record that confirms the growing attraction of this sport. The new territories are focusing on diversity. Unlike traditional bastions where practice remains very male (80% of men at the national level), emerging regions are expanding their pool. Female practice is clearly progressing: at the national level, women now represent almost 20 % of licensees.
Occitania, rising region of pétanque
In Haute-Garonne, we count 212 active clubs and around 11,000 licenseesaccording to the president of the departmental committee in early August 2025. He specifies that the Bouches-du-Rhône were around 140 clubs. Result: Haute-Garonne is today the first department of France in number of clubs.
This dynamic finds its perfect illustration with the pétanque in Toulouse from September 5 to 7, 2025. Organized in partnership with La Guinguette “La Pétanque des Copains” by Antoine Dupont and Cyril Baille, the event welcomes 480 participants per day on 40 land. With 8,000 people expected On the Esplanade Alain Savary, this young tournament wants to walk in the footsteps of Marseille!
Towards a more open bourist France
Faced with this competition, the region PACA and VAR modernize their structuresrecruit coaches, renovate their equipment. But they leave with a handicap: Their best players age And some structures are struggling to renew themselves.
Henri Lacroix, at 50, continues to impress by his regularity. With Ligan Doerr and Laurent Matraglia, he won the title of champion of Var Triplettes, confirming that Individual excellence remains present in the Southeast. But this domination is now exercised in a transformed competitive landscape. Dylan Rocher, representative of the new generation, multiplies performance.
But 2025 marks a decisive turning point. If the South-East retains its prestige and its exceptional champions, it now shares power with a more diverse, younger and more ambitious boulist.
The map of France is redrawn before our eyes. There Capital of Pétanque Marseille Remains in place but is gradually diluted in favor of an unprecedented territorial balance. This geographic democratization enriches French pétanque and promises even more disputed championships in the years to come.