Water Jousting, aka Les Joutes, is a little as you expect, but then a little different, too. Exchange the horse for a boat, and you have the idea :-)
It's a pretty big part of life here in Sète, and one must-see when friends come to visit. The nice thing is, you don't have to know *any* of the rules to enjoy watching it! (Of course, if you want to, see
here and
here...)
Various contests happen all summer long, usually on the main canal downtown - we went to one on the opposite side of the island...
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| Boats get ready |
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| Charge! |
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| Crash! |
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| Splash! |
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| Another crash |
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| Another splash! |
The culmination is La Fête de la Saint Louis, the Superbowl of Joutes, held at the end of August - jouteurs compete by invitation, and tournaments by age and weight go on all week.
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| Relaxing between tournaments |
Of course, the Saint Louis isn't only Joutes - centre-ville is jam-packed with music, dancing, a food booths! It's a sure way to try different styles of mussels, tielles, and sweets. We went from a brasucade (mussels) dinner to an evening of musique sétoise - instruments from the Joutes (oboes and drums) combined with others, jouteurs singing, chanting, and joking; songs ranged from local folksongs to modern pop; soon enough, everyone was encouraged to learn some folkdances - chairs moved out, and dancers whirled...
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Here's just an idea of how the St. Louis festival affects normal life in Sète - road closures...
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