Actualités · 12 April 2026
Portrait of a pétanque champion: the incredible anecdote of the one they call "The Chosen One"
*José exists. The facts reported in this article were verified with seven witnesses. Two asked to remain anonymous. A third simply said "I'd rather not get involved" and hung up. His first name was changed at his request. His municipality was changed at our request, because the local people asked us not to send journalists. So. Welcome to José's story. 23 titles in official competitions in 14 years 7 times where the opposing ball ricocheted off yoursIn the beginning, there was a boule and a miracle
José started pétanque at 38, "because the doctor told me to walk more". His initial technical level was, according to unanimous witnesses, "frankly mediocre". His partner at the time, Marcel R., still remembers the first competition.
" "The first game of his life, he releases his boule any old how — I think he was looking at his feet instead of the jack. The boule goes off to the right at 45 degrees. It bounces off a pebble. It comes back to the left. It hits the opposing boule. The opposing boule moves off and pushes the jack exactly under our team's two other boules. Three-boule carreau. We won the end 3-0. José says 'that's what I wanted to do'. I shook his hand wondering whether I'd really seen what I'd seen." 👴 Marcel R. Partner from the very first hour, since retired from pétanque ★★★★★That first shot was perhaps a fluke. What happened over the next 14 years can no longer be reasonably explained by chance alone. At least, that's what everyone who has played with or against him thinks.
The legend is built — year after year
Year 2 — Saint-Jean competition The jack that turns around In the final, the opposing team leads 12-11. José throws the jack for the last end. It goes too far — clearly beyond the regulatory 10 metres. It hits the wooden boundary line of the terrain, bounces, and comes back to exactly 7.32 metres from the circle. The umpire measures. Validates. José wins the end 2-0 and takes the competition. The opponent asked to see the terrain a second time. It was perfectly flat. Year 3 — League championship The boule that stops balanced on the edge His shot was supposed to go off the terrain. The boule arrives on the boundary string, does a full turn on itself — sworn witnesses — and stops inside the terrain. 4 centimetres from the jack. The opposing team appealed. The umpire looked for 40 seconds. He said "it's in the terrain". The opponent said "but it did a full turn". The umpire said "that doesn't exist in the rules". José shrugged. Year 5 — Night team competition The providential bee During the decisive game, a bee lands on the jack. Everyone steps back. José throws anyway — "I hadn't seen the bee" he'd say later. His boule approaches the jack. The bee flies off at the last moment. The boule stops 2 centimetres away. Point won. The bee was never found again. One opponent claims it had golden wings. Year 7 — Regional tournament The carreau off multiple ricochets José shoots. His boule hits a pebble. Deflects onto a friendly boule. Bounces onto an opposing boule. Comes back. Strikes the target boule at an angle. It goes out cleanly. José's boule stops exactly where the knocked-out boule was — the perfect carreau. Both teams watched in silence for 8 seconds. "It's the kind of situation that makes you wonder whether you've chosen the right sport", the opponent would say that evening. Year 9 — Village competition The rain that stops exactly during his shots It had been raining since morning. All the teams were playing in the rain. Every time it was José's turn to throw, witnesses claim the rain stopped for 15 to 20 seconds — exactly the duration of his shot — then started again. This happened five times in the same game. The department's meteorologist, when asked, said that "it's statistically possible but unlikely". He no longer remembers José. Year 12 — Departmental final The boule that rolls back up an 8% slope The terrain is slightly sloped. José points. His boule falls short, starts coming back toward him — slope obliges — then mysteriously stops halfway. Then moves off toward the jack again. Stops on it. The umpire calls two colleagues. They look at the slope. They measure. They look at each other. They say "valid". The head umpire says "sometimes the terrain does things". No one asked any more questions.The Virgin Mary on the shoulder — his partners' explanation
The divine protection theory arrived in the fourth year. It was Roger D., his most regular partner, who first formulated it — seriously — after the Pentecost competition.
" "We were at the bar after the win. I was looking at José. And I said to him — 'José, you've got the Virgin Mary on your shoulder.' He looked at me, took a sip of rosé and said 'which one?' As if it were normal. As if he'd been told he had a stain on his shirt. Since that day, I no longer doubt. There are things that go beyond the understanding of ordinary pétanque." 🙏 Roger D. Partner for 11 years, believer for 8 years ★★★★★The theory gained followers. Some partners refused to play on the opposing team to José during the club's internal tournaments — "on principle, not out of fear", they specified. A recurring opponent in the department, Gilles M., even went so far as to wear a small Virgin Mary medal during their clashes. He still lost 4 times out of 5.
" "I had my medal. I had prayed that morning. I had a new rigid circle. I had my best boules. We were in the semi-final. At 11-11, last end, José throws his jack. It goes clearly out of bounds — we had our arms raised to celebrate. And then, the wind picks up. Just the wind. The jack rolls 40 centimetres to the left and comes back in bounds. The end restarts. We lose 3-0. I put my medal back in my pocket. I told myself that my medal and José's medal maybe weren't playing in the same category." 😔 Gilles M. Recurring opponent, changed department in 2023 ☆☆☆☆☆ (for his own luck)The craziest anecdotes — certified by several witnesses
⭐ CERTIFIED ANECDOTE — 4 eyewitnesses The phone that rings at the right moment In 2019, José is about to shoot the decisive boule at 11-10. He takes position in the circle. His phone rings in his pocket. He takes the phone out to switch it off. He looks at the screen for half a second. He sees it's his mother. He puts the phone back. He throws. Perfect carreau. His mother would tell him later that she "had a premonition". When asked whether she sometimes watches his games, she says "José never gives me the schedule". The premonition was acknowledged as unexplained by four witnesses including two declared sceptics. ⭐ CERTIFIED ANECDOTE — 6 witnesses including the umpire The boule he didn't throw Regional semi-final, 2021. José holds his boule, ready to shoot. His teammate shouts — from too far away — something incomprehensible. José turns his head to understand. His boule slips from his hands. It rolls in the circle, leaves the circle, rolls 7 metres across the terrain, hits exactly the opposing boule in a strategic position, knocks it out, and stops 8 centimetres from the jack. The umpire says "boule played". The opponent says "but he dropped it". The umpire says "it travelled across the terrain in the right direction from the circle — it's a played boule". José says "that's what I wanted to do". His teammate says he had simply asked him whether it was him buying the drinks that evening. ⭐ CERTIFIED ANECDOTE — photographed The black cat that sits on the opposing boule Village competition, summer 2022. A black cat has been wandering on the terrain since morning — no one managed to make it leave. The umpire gave up at 10am. At the decisive moment, the opposing boule was leading by 4 centimetres. The cat crosses the terrain, sits exactly on the opposing boule, moves it 12 centimetres. The umpire says that a boule moved by a free-roaming animal on an unfenced terrain must be put back to its estimated original position. No one remembered exactly its original position. José's boule was declared the closest. José stroked the cat. The cat never came back. A photo still circulates in the club, shared every year on the same date. ⭐ CERTIFIED ANECDOTE — official umpire report The carreau on a boule he hadn't seen Regional championship, 2023. José aims at a boule. He shoots. He wasn't aiming at the right boule — he'd admit afterwards. He had misjudged from the sun. His boule hits the wrong opposing boule — but that boule, as it leaves, strikes exactly the right opposing boule, which goes out. Unintentional double carreau. The opponent, who had two boules in the area, found himself with zero boules and lost the end. The umpire report includes the note "unexpected game situation — result in accordance with the rules". José said he had "had a doubt at the last moment but that it had gone well".The theories — what everyone really believes
🙏 Divine protectionThe Virgin Mary on the shoulder. Three saints in reserve. A direct link with the forces of the universe that only truly simple people — in the noble sense — can have.
Followers: Roger D., José's mother, and about 60% of the club. 🧬 Genetic luckHis father always won at belote. His grandmother found mushrooms where no one else found any. Luck would run in the family blood.
Followers: the club's rationalists who reject the supernatural but have no other explanation. 🧠 The brilliant unconsciousHis brain calculates trajectories that his consciousness doesn't understand. He would play "in automatic mode" at a level that normal humans cannot reach voluntarily.
Followers: the club's engineers, who prefer explanations with fancy words. 🌀 Manifest destinyJosé was destined to win these games. The universe arranges things so that the results are consistent with his destiny. The boules and the jack cooperate because they have no choice.
Followers: Fernande T., 74, who stopped challenging him "out of respect for Nature". 😌 Absolute calmJosé never feels pressure. His natural serenity allows him to execute gestures that others alter with their stress. Luck would in fact be the total absence of anxiety.
Followers: a few sensible players who seem to be right, but it doesn't explain the cat. 🤷 José's theory"I don't know. I like playing. The boules do what they want. I trust them." Said with a smile. Without trying to go further.
Followers: José. And the people who, after 14 years, have stopped looking for an explanation.The record — the victories and their circumstances
🏆 SELECTION FROM JOSÉ'S RECORD (competition names changed) 🥇 Saint-Jean competition — Final victory The jack that turns around. First official victory. Miraculous 🥇 League championship — Regional title The boule that does a full turn on itself. Appeal rejected. Unexplained 🥇 Summer night competition — 3rd title The bee with golden wings. Still not found. Entomological 🥇 Departmental final — Champion His mother's phone. Unexplained maternal premonition. Family 🥇 Regional championship — Title The unintentional double carreau. Umpire report still in the archives. Administrative 🏅 Village competition — Victory with the cat The black cat. The photo still circulates. The cat is nowhere to be found. FelineWhat his opponents say about him
" "José is a decent player. Neither exceptional nor bad. His technique is clean but nothing more. He doesn't shoot better than me. He doesn't point better than me. And yet, the 11 times we've faced each other, he's won 9. The 2 times we won, he had a blister on his hand and his favourite boule was in his car. I don't begrudge José. I begrudge physics." 😤 Alain P. Regional champion several times, recurring opponent of José ★★★★★ (his level) ★☆☆☆☆ (his luck against José) " "What bothers me most is that he doesn't seem to realise it. He arrives, he plays, he wins, he says 'good game' shaking hands, and he leaves. No arrogance. No excessive pride. He goes home and waters his tomatoes or whatever. That's the most troubling part. If only he boasted, we could properly dislike him." 🤔 Bernard L. Opponent, would have quite liked to be a partner ★★★★☆ 🎙️ Paquita after the investigation "I met José once. He was watering his tomatoes, indeed. I asked him the secret of his legendary luck. He looked at me, thought for a few seconds, and said to me — with all the depth of a man who has won 23 competitions, many of them in inexplicable fashion: 'I play without overthinking it.' Then he went back to watering his tomatoes. I looked for something to add for 20 seconds. I found nothing. Maybe that's the secret." — Paquita, still troubled two months laterWhat José teaches us in spite of himself
Beyond the anecdote — and the temptation to attribute his trajectory to supernatural forces — José's case illustrates something very concrete about pétanque.
🧠Serenity as a skill: all the witnesses agree on one point — José never stresses. Not before a decisive shot, not at 11-10, not in the final. This absence of anxiety may not be divine luck. It may simply be the most difficult gesture in pétanque that he masters effortlessly: not letting himself be overwhelmed by the stakes. What others call "José's luck" could be "José's total absence of pressure" — and his boules take advantage of it to go where a relaxed gesture can send them.
His partners all confirm: José never talks about the score during the game. He doesn't count the points before the end. He doesn't calculate what needs to be scored to win. He plays one boule, then another, then another. The pressure that others inflict on themselves doesn't exist for him. And maybe in that empty space that pressure doesn't fill, something else settles in — call it the Virgin Mary, the unconscious, destiny or simply physics behaving well with relaxed people.
⭐ José's lessonYou can't learn to be lucky. But you can learn to play without pressure, not to count the score before the end, to trust your gesture and your boule. That's perhaps what José does naturally from day one — and what the rest of us spend years trying to reproduce. The Virgin Mary on the shoulder remains to be confirmed. Serenity in the gesture, on the other hand, is documented.
📖 PAQUITA'S BOOK The method for playing without overthinking itJosé does it naturally. The rest of us need a method. Paquita's book covers the pre-shot routine, pressure management, mental protocols and 100 exercises to anchor a gesture that holds under pressure. No Virgin Mary included — but it helps anyway.
📦 Order on Amazon 📎 Related articles Rules FFPJP rules — to know whether José's boule was legal Equipment Choosing your boules — José has no particular advice Equipment Top 3 best shooter boules 2026 Video Umpiring videos — to understand the decisions on José's boules Competition Official calendar — running into José is possible Tools Free PetanqueLand tools© Pétanque by Paquita — petanqueland.fr ·
📖 Paquita's book on Amazon
José is a fictional character. Any resemblance to an existing player who genuinely has the Virgin Mary on his shoulder would be a troubling coincidence. The witnesses cited are fictional. The cat, on the other hand, may have been real — we don't know. José's tomatoes are authentically imagined.
