Petanque is a form of boules where the goal is to throw metal balls as close as possible to a jack (a small wooden ball called a cochonnet in French, which means piglet). The game is normally played on hard sand or gravel, but can also be played on grass or any other surface. Similar games are bocce and bowls.
Petanque is generally associated with southern France, particularly Provence, and with 17 million casual players, it is the most played sport in France.
There are about 480,000 players licenced with the Federation Francaise de Petanque et Jeu Provencal (FFPJP). The FFPJP is the 4th-largest sporting federation in France. The licensed players play under the precise rules of that very competitive form of Petanque which is called Petanque Sport.
