Often played with a cigarette in hand and sips of pastis or cold beer during regular intervals, pétanque has long been the domain of elderly French men in shorts, passing their time under the fading sun. Now, growing numbers of Britons are taking up the game.
Colin Roper, the president of Pétanque England, the national governing body that boasts 154 clubs, said it was rising in popularity with women and young people and was played by up to 30,000 people in the UK — a far cry from the Seventies when the only devotees here were French waiters.
Roper, 78, who has played since his youth, believes its appeal lies in being accessible to all ages. “In England, pétanque has gradually grown as an alternative
