Petanque is a supposedly peaceful game between two or more people who take turns throwing their balls with the aim of getting them closer than their opponents to the jack. It is not a particularly noisy activity, as the clinking of the balls does not cause loud noises, nor does it usually generate big commotions, rivalries aside. A calm setting that has been disrupted this August in Calafell (Baix Penedès), where the public confrontation between some of the residents of the building closest to the municipal petanque courts and the players of the Mas Mel club has intensified.
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The origin of the neighborhood conflict must be sought four years ago, in the relocation of the municipal petanque courts from Calafell beach, next to the sands, to a public area located next to a residential building. The City Council decided the new location and, according to the residents’ version, many of whom have second homes, assured that it was a temporary place.
Years have passed and the petanque courts remain in the same place. But the patience of the residents has been running out until this summer when some of the residents decided to take protest actions. Half a dozen banners were still displayed yesterday on the balconies, with explicit messages: “Out petanque, city council solution now, the city council deceives us or life here is not good.”
The residents opposed to petanque claim that they are bothered by the noise generated by the fans of this game, many elderly people, around seventy and even eighty years old. They also denounce that the players gather at siesta time on the courts, before four in the afternoon, and chat before starting to throw balls and jacks. “The only thing missing is for the mayor to say that they don’t make noise here, you don’t know because you have never come to the municipal courts, neither in 2023, nor in 2024, nor in 2025, nor now,” Josep Maria Salvia, one of the residents, said yesterday in an interview on Versió Estiu on RAC1.
The relocation of the municipal court was done four years ago but the conflict erupted this summer
What is now known as the petanque war, first reported by the Diari de Tarragona, heated up a bit more yesterday after the dispute was reported in several media outlets.
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In the morning, one of the players, Mariano Ramírez, from the Mas Mel Petanque Club, explained that they had been the target of several acts of sabotage by the neighbors. “A couple of gentlemen keep putting silicone in the lock of the cabinet where we keep the playing equipment and they tore off the club sign on the courts,” Ramírez denounced. “We don’t bother anyone, we get together ten or twelve people in a friendly way, to play from six to eight in the evening. We don’t play at night. They are the ones provoking us,” Ramírez added.
A version contradicted by some of the neighbors, who have also denounced the alleged uncivil behavior of some of the petanque players. “Two bags with dog poop ended up at the entrance of our block, I don’t know who threw them… And they painted the building wall with dog poop,” Salvia explained, outraged. According to the residents’ version, the scatological response occurred when some time ago the neighborhood protest managed to stop the construction of a third petanque court in the same place by municipal initiative.
“We are calm people, but I don’t like being insulted and criticized,” added the resident, also retired. Salvia explained that he himself ordered the six banners, all with the same format, and distributed them to the neighbors who wanted to join the cause. He maintains that it is not a political grudge, less than a year before the municipal elections. “I don’t even know who the mayor is,” he assures. The dispute does not seem likely to be resolved, at least in the short term, in the middle of August and with the Mas Mel petanque players willing to continue their games. The City Council also does not consider a relocation; it maintains that the activity does not generate noise or disturbances.
The players say they respect the siesta, but the neighbors deny it and denounce uncivil behavior
Yesterday afternoon a dozen fans repeated the same ritual starting at six in the evening. “We will continue playing petanque here,” they say. Inside the houses, some of the outraged neighbors continue demanding the City Council relocate the controversial courts.
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