Water Jousting

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...

Boats get ready

Charge!

Crash!

Splash!

Another crash

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.

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...