An 81-year-old pétanque player has been arrested after allegedly killing his 68-year-old opponent by striking him in the face with a metal boule during a dispute said to have been fuelled by a ‘huge rivalry’ between the two men. 

The deadly altercation unfolded on a shaded pétanque court in the village of Mimizan in south-west France on Wednesday, when an argument between members of rival local clubs turned violent.

Pétanque is a traditional French game that involves throwing heavy metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden or plastic ball called a cochonnet. 

According to witnesses, the pair came to blows before the older man allegedly grabbed one of the balls used in the game and struck his opponent in the face.

The 68-year-old victim suffered a cardiac arrest moments later and, despite the efforts of emergency services, died at the scene.

The dispute is understood to have started after members of a nearby pétanque club asked to use Mimizan’s tree-covered court as temperatures climbed above 30C. 

The exact cause of the argument remains unclear, but investigators are examining whether the blow from the metal ball directly caused the victim’s death. 

The 81-year-old suspect was taken into custody and is due to appear before a judge as prosecutors seek to bring formal charges.

The death has left the local community in shock, with the Mont-de-Marsan public prosecutor’s office opening a judicial investigation into the incident.

An 81-year-old pétanque player has been arrested after allegedly killing his 68-year-old opponent by striking him in the face with a metal boule during a dispute said to have been fuelled by a ‘huge rivalry’ between the two men (stock image)

This is not the only pétanque-related death in recent years.

In 2023, a Dutchman critically injured after a steel petanque ball that had been left near a fire pit exploded during a bachelor party died five days after the incident.

The explosion reportedly burned his entire face and embedded metal shards in his skull.

A neighbour said that he ‘thought that a gas bottle had exploded’ in the incident that left the 37-year-old unnamed tourist from Eindhoven seriously injured at around 9.30pm on May 13.

It has now been revealed that the man died as a result of the explosion in the Belgian town of Stavelot, in Wallonia.

It was alleged that the tourists, all aged in their mid-30s, placed petanque balls either in or under the fire pit, with one of them becoming so hot that it exploded.

The man’s family told local media: ‘We are shocked by the sudden death, he will be greatly missed.’ 

They asked for their privacy to be respected so they can grieve in peace.

Discussing the aftermath of the explosion, the neighbour told local media: ‘Fifteen minutes later we saw an ambulance arriving. Then we heard a medical helicopter circling above. Then I knew it was for the holiday home.’

He added: ‘We heard the paramedics talking among themselves. So someone was seriously injured – his whole face was burned.’

The victim was transferred by helicopter to the University Hospital in Liege, where he was placed in a medically induced coma.

The Stavelot-Malmedy Police told local media: ‘It had the same effect as a grenade.

‘When the ball exploded, pieces flew into the back of someone’s skull.’