Published on May 29, 2017, by Marseille Tourism

38 DEAD AND 200 INJURED FOR A GAME OF BOULES!

It was in 1792 that Marseille unintentionally set this tragic record in the history of pétanque…

No riots in the stands, no buses of supporters in flames… Strangely, that wasn't yet in fashion in 1792!

At the root of this tragedy was simply a slightly crazy idea – to play with cannonballs right next to an arsenal!

This original initiative came directly from the soldiers of the National Guard themselves, who found themselves with too much time on their hands and certainly felt that the weather was conducive to a good game of pétanque among colleagues.

A brilliant idea, if you will, as one of the cannonballs ended up veering off course, took advantage of the opportunity to ignite a powder stockpile, and consequently devastated a good part of the Récollets convent.

Needless to say, a tally like that still stands as a real record… In the Marseillaise spirit!

So, if you forget your triplette, beware! You don't play boules with just anything!

And while we're waiting, here's: The list of the best boulodromes in Marseille

So, are you ready? Shall we blow everything up?