The town of Millau

Lodgings in Millau

Every August since 1982, the World Cup held in Millau is "the event" in the petanque world. Thousands of players assemble, all in good spirits, in the magnificent "Parc de la Victoire". Out of 20 matches (including the supplementary games) organised over 5 days, each player tries his luck and has the opportunity to beat a big name come to defend his title. It's the best way to meet the top petanque players. The popularity of "Le Parc de la Victoire" is that it is the only reunion of world famous players and is thus an important event before the World Championship. The best players in the world come to Millau, because winning at Millau is very highly regarded.

The ladies are not left out, as a one-to-one feminine match (more than 200 participants in '98) and a mixed triplet are also on the agenda. In the future it would be nice to add a competition for juniors too.

The growing success of this World Cup is due to its organisation and it's scoring system or "graphs". However many teams there are (nearly 1000 for the doubles), as soon as you are signed on, you are given the number of yor opponent team with the number of the pitch on which your first game will take place, and so on after each game won. At the same time, after the first round a supplementary competition called the "mondialitos" is organised for the runners-up in groups of 128 teams.

The World Cup keeps growing, and is covered and sponsored by the local press, the "Midi libre": it is now proud to call itself the "Mondial Midi Libre de Pétanque à Millau" (the Midi Libre World Cup of Petanque of Millau).

Where to stay: 10 000 camping lots are available, 200 guest houses, 700 rooms in 2 - 3 star hotels.

Enquiries:

MILLAU PETANQUE PROMOTION - 12 rue du Rajol - 12100 MILLAU FRANCE Tél: (33) 05 65 61 18 45 Fax: (33) 05 65 59 77 60

OFFICE de TOURISME - Avenue Alfred Merle - BP 331 - 12103 MILLAU Cedex FRANCE Tél: (33) 05 65 60 02 42 Fax: (33) 05 65 61 36 08