Saint-Tropez : the ambassador of Place des Lices
© E. Bertrand
Saint Tropez would not be Saint Tropez without its petanque players. Jean-Annick Papazian is hardly likely to disagree.
Nicknamed the "ambassador of the place des Lices", this happy man admits to living here as if he were "on another planet". At the respectable age of eighty, he is still host to people from all over the world. "I get requests to organise tournaments for the Japanese, the Chinese, the Americans... Whether rich or poor, they're all here to have a good time." Papazian goes on to list the celebrities he has bowled with: Eddie Barclay, Yves Mourousi, Henri Salvador, Carlos, Lino Ventura, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Enrico Macias, even former president Georges Pompidou. "You wouldn't have got within thirty yards of him anywhere else. 'Come on Pompon, have a throw' is how people addressed him here!"
So, on your way across place des Lices, in whatever season, stop for a moment and listen to the players as they roar with laughter, congratulate, encourage, get annoyed with and make up with one another. Then why not to have a go yourself? Strangers are always welcome - just look who is chair of the petanque club in Saint Tropez: none other than Jean-Michel Aulas, president of the Lyon football club.
Contact us
Office de tourisme de Saint-Tropez
Quai Jean Jaurès
83990 Saint-Tropez
(0033) (0)8 92 68 48 28
Website
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La Maison Blanche
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Le Bistro
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Chez Camille
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Boules and Pétanque Club
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La Maison des papillons
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La Tarte tropézienne
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Office de tourisme de Saint-Tropez
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Topic : Art and cultural heritage
Published on : 2008/11/13
Tags : saint-tropez saint-tropez the ambassador of place lices
