Mimizan, France: Pétanque boule player, 68, dead after argument reportedly broke out with ‘rival’ team

A man is in custody after a “mega rivalry” resulted in the death of a sports player.

A 68-year-old man died on June 17 after an argument broke out in Mimizan, France, over pétanque boule.

Pétanque boule is a French target sport similar to lawn bowls.

The man was reportedly struck during a fight between a team that plays on the beach and another that plays in town.

An 81-year-old man was arrested in relation to the 68-year-old’s death and remains in custody.

Public prosecutor Alexa Dubourg said the cause of death was related to sports equipment, according to the BBC.

“According to the evidence... it seems that it is the 81-year-old man who struck the victim, who is deceased, with a pétanque boule,” she said.

Ms Dubourg said the incident was “an argument which degenerated into a physical (confrontation)”.

A witness said that the beach group had asked to play in town because of a heatwave, which led to the argument.

It is understood that the man did not immediately die, but had a heart attack minutes later which caused him to collapse.

A local resident said the battle between the beach and town teams was well known.

“There is a mega rivalry between the beach pétanque players and those in the town but I didn’t think it was at that level,” they said.

Deputy mayor Daniel Pujos commented on the incident.

“Someone from the town’s boule club obviously could not accept the fact that those from the beach wanted to benefit from the shade of the boulodrome,” he said, as reported by GB News.

This is not the first time an altercation has broken out at Mimizan’s boulodrome.

A 52-year-old was jailed in 2021 for stabbing a 25-year-old during an argument.