Pétanque player, 68, dies after being 'hit in head with metal boule'

The man was allegedly struck by his 81-year-old opponent, who has since been arrested, the public prosecutor says.

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The man was reportedly struck after an argument broke out between one team that regularly plays on the beach and another that plays in town.

The dispute started when the beach group asked to play in town while in search of shade during a heatwave, witnesses told local media.

An 81-year-old has been arrested and is being held in custody, according to the Mont-de-Marsan prosecutor's office.

"According to the evidence … it seems that it is the 81-year-old man who struck the victim, who is deceased, with a pétanque boule," Alexa Dubourg, the public prosecutor in Mont-de-Marsan, told local paper Sud Ouest.