Patrick Messonnier - Marseillaise's Three-Time Champion | Player Profile

Patrick Messonnier - Quick Facts

A Rare Three-Time Marseillaise Champion

Patrick Messonnier is one of French petanque's most recognizable names at the Mondial la Marseillaise a Petanque, the sport's largest annual open tournament, drawing thousands of triplettes to Marseille's Parc Borely each July. In July 2026, at age 59, he won the event for a third time - a feat shared by only a small circle of players in the tournament's six-decade history - and did so alongside two first-time Marseillaise champions, Michel Loy and Yohan Cousin.

A pointer by trade, Messonnier plays out of JP Rumilly in Haute-Savoie, where he has led the club's elite competitive squad for roughly eight years. Away from the terrain, he is also a figure in the sport's equipment side, having founded the Toro Petank boules brand in 2016.

Three Marseillaise Titles, Three Different Teams

Messonnier's Marseillaise record spans more than a decade, with a different pair of teammates each time.

His first title came in 2015, when he won alongside Cedric Salvini and Kevin Lellouche, beating a team led by Jean-Michel Puccinelli in the final on the Vieux-Port.

Four years later, in 2019, Messonnier returned to the top of the podium with two teenage teammates, Adrien Delahaye and Joey Casale, both 17 at the time. The trio beat Simon Cortes, Christophe Bacchin and Alain Adell 13-8 in a final played on the Mucem esplanade.

His third and most recent title arrived in 2026. Partnering Michel Loy and Yohan Cousin, Messonnier beat Patrick Laur's team - completed by Sony Even and Sebastien Rousseau - 13-5 in a one-sided final at Parc Borely on 8 July 2026, closing out the match in a little over an hour. Along the way, Messonnier's side saw off the defending champion, Madagascar's Yves Rakotoarisoa, in the semifinal. The win gave Loy and Cousin their first Marseillaise titles, while extending Messonnier's own record to three - see the full 2026 Marseillaise recap for the complete tournament results.

Beyond the Marseillaise, Messonnier's documented record centers on club and regional competition rather than FFPJP national or FIPJP world titles: in 2024, for example, he won the Haute-Savoie departmental triplette championship 13-0 alongside Kevin Philipson and Romain Zimmermann.

Founding Toro Petank

Alongside his playing career, Messonnier is known in French petanque circles as the founder of Toro Petank, a boules brand he registered in April 2016 and developed together with Claudy Weibel, the 2000 World Champion, and Claude Bezat. He has also led the brand's competitive squad, long referred to as Team Toro, which built its reputation through his club, JP Rumilly - reporting from the 2026 season indicates the squad relocating to JP Thonon-les-Bains.

Playing Style

Messonnier competes as a pointer, the role responsible for placing boules close to the jack rather than knocking opposing boules away. His three Marseillaise titles, won with three entirely different sets of teammates across more than a decade, point to a player capable of anchoring a triplette regardless of who else is on the team - a trait he shares with several of his 2026 winning side, given Cousin's own reputation as an all-rounder able to fill whatever role a match demands.

Achievements and Honors

• Winner, Mondial la Marseillaise a Petanque (2026), with Michel Loy and Yohan Cousin
• Winner, Mondial la Marseillaise a Petanque (2019), with Adrien Delahaye and Joey Casale
• Winner, Mondial la Marseillaise a Petanque (2015), with Cedric Salvini and Kevin Lellouche
• Champion, Haute-Savoie departmental triplette championship (2024), with Kevin Philipson and Romain Zimmermann
• Founder, Toro Petank boules brand (2016)

Legacy

Three Mondial la Marseillaise titles, spread across three different decades of teammates, make Patrick Messonnier one of the tournament's most successful repeat champions in the modern era - a distinction he has combined with a second career as the founder of a boules brand built with a World Champion's input. With his 2026 win coming at 59 and delivering maiden Marseillaise titles to two younger teammates, Messonnier's continued presence at the top of pétanque's biggest open tournament shows little sign of fading.