Jeu de paume Jeu de paume Jeu de paume (; ) is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, though these were eventually introduced. It is a former Olympic sport, and has the oldest ongoing annual world championship in sport, first established over 250 years ago. Originally spelled jeu de paulme, now it is called "real tennis" , court tennis (US) or courte paume (France). In the earliest versions of the game, the players hit the ball with their hands, as in palla, volleyball, or certain varieties of pelota. "Jeu de paume", or
Sport in France Road World Championships, and the gold in the road race at the 1996 Olympics. Though it is little known, Gaelic football is developing in France. There are currently 20 clubs across the country with 80% of the players French. Professional sailing in France is centered on singlehanded/shorthanded ocean racing with the pinnacle of this branch of the sport being the Vendée Globe singlehanded around the world race which starts every 4 years from the French Atlantic. Pétanque is mostly played in the South of France. Pétanque is not considered as a sport by many northern Frenchmen though the international federation