Boules (a.k.a. pétanque if you're from the south of France, or bocce if you're Italian) players in the gardens at the Palais Royal. We normally play when we're visiting Georges' sister in Saint Raphael. There are a number of places around Paris where people can play boules, including some small hidden gardens up in Montmartre and even the base of the old Roman Arena in the 5th arrondissement. All you really need is a reasonably flat surface that is compacted well and a just little bit gravelly, so you can often find people in the public gardens around the city, playing in any spare corner.
And more boules. Arguing about the minutia of the game is part of the fun. The arguments can get quite heated, too, which is fun for the spectators.
I'm sure they were arguing over whether one team's boule was 1cm closer to the cochonnet than the other's. This is often a game of millimeters, and players bring their own rulers to take measurements when it's a close call.
You couldn't play boules with these, though.
