| Intervilles | |
|---|---|
 Logo for the 50th anniversary special (2013) | |
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Guy Lux Claude Savarit |
| Based on | Campanile sera [it] |
| Presented by | Various (see below) |
| Country of origin | France |
| Original language | French |
| No. of series | 24 |
| No. of episodes | 344 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | RTF |
| Release | 17 July 1962 (1962-07-17) – 19 September 1963 (1963-09-19) |
| Network | ORTF (1964, 1970–1971, 1973) |
| Release | 2 July 1964 (1964-07-02) – 25 September 1973 (1973-09-25) |
| Network | France Régions 3 |
| Release | 10 July (1985-07-10) – 24 July 1985 (1985-07-24) |
| Network | TF1 (1986–1991, 1995–1999) |
| Release | 4 July 1986 (1986-07-04) – 6 September 1999 (1999-09-06) |
| Network | France 2 (2004–2005) France 3 (2006–2009) |
| Release | 5 July 2004 (2004-07-05) – 26 August 2009 (2009-08-26) |
| Network | France 2 |
| Release | 29 June 2013 (2013-06-29) |
| Release | 3 July 2025 (2025-07-03) – present |
| Related | |
| Jeux sans frontières It's a Knockout | |
Intervilles (French:[ɛ̃tɛʁvil]) is a French comedygame show first broadcast in 1962. The show was based on a previous Italian programme. It featured teams representing towns in France competing in a series of games, some of which involved live cows and bulls (referred to as thevachettes).
Broadcast for over fifty years despite several interruptions, it is one of the longest-running French game shows, one of the most adapted French programs for foreign audiences and one of the flagship programs of the summer in France, along with Fort Boyard and La Carte aux trésors [fr]. Its success led to the launch of the European version, Jeux sans frontières, as well as the winter versions, Interneige and then Interglace.
The show was aired from July 17, 1962, onRTF, then onORTF from 1964 to 1973. After 12 years of absence, it reappeared on July 10, 1985, onFR3, before moving toTF1 from July 4, 1986, to September 6, 1999, despite allegations of cheating in 1997.France Télévisions revived the show and initially aired it onFrance 2 from July 5, 2004, before moving it toFrance 3 from June 23, 2006, to August 26, 2009.[1]
A special programme was broadcast on France 2 on June 29, 2013, to mark the show's 50th anniversary, and an international version was broadcast onGulli from 2014 to 2016.[2] In 2019, it was announced that the programme would be revived, albeit without including the vachettes.Nagui finally announced in October 2023 that the show was no longer a priority, given the cost of living and the financial difficulties of different cities. However, in September 2024 it was officially confirmed byFrance Télévisions' Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez that the show would be revived in the summer of 2025.[3]
Intervilles was created as an adaption of the Italian programmeCampanile sera [it], which pitted two teams representing separate towns against each other in a series of games and obstacle courses.[4] When the1962 Tour de France was not broadcast on French television due to a dispute over allowing commercial advertising on the Tour,Intervilles was created to fill the time.[4] The original rule brought in by the creatorGuy Lux was that towns could only participate if they had 20,000 inhabitants or less to avoid big cities because of a belief they lacked local pride.[4] The first episode pittedSaint-Amand-les-Eaux andArmentières inDax against each other in an open-air arena in front of 6,000 spectators.[4] Reportedly it became so popular that thePresident of France,Charles de Gaulle would rearrange his official schedule to watch it.[5] The programme inspired the British programmeIt's a Knockout.[6]
In the 1990s,Olivier Chiabodo [fr] said the games were rigged to keep up suspense by soaping up surfaces for the team in the lead.[7] This was after Chiabodo had been fired from the programme byTF1 after having been accused of cheating byLe Canard enchaîné newspaper.[8] Chiabodo was accused of helpingPuy du Fou win in 1996 and 1997 by indicating quiz answers to them using his hands.[9] The mayor ofMont-de-Marsan which opposed Puy du Fou in the 1997 final made the allegation of cheating by stating: "Nous ne sommes pas venus ici en culottes de chou nous faire brouter le cul par des lapins" ("We did not come here in cabbage breeches to have our arses eaten by rabbits").[10] Puy du Fou sued for defamation and the losers of the previous yearPont-Saint-Esprit also sued Chiabodo, alleging that he tried to put their contestants off by making negative comments towards them.[11][12] Chiabodo suedLe Canard enchaîné for 400,000francs but was only awarded a token 1 franc in damages.[8]
In 2013, a special anniversary programme was broadcast onFrance 2 to celebrate 50 years of the programme. The episode included a repeat of the original final between teams representing Dax and Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. This was done in the hopes of a revival to be broadcast the next year.[2]
Intervilles became well known for its use of horned cows and young bulls in the games, referred to as the "vachettes" (cowhides). The bulls were not originally a part of the programme, but when Lux visitedBuglose inSouth West France, he was persuaded to include bulls after seeing the popularity of cattle shows.[4] He asked local breeder Joseph Labat to provide the bulls, an agreement that continued through three generations of the Labat family.[4] The bulls were adolescents and entered the ring with rubber balls on their horns for safety.[5] The vachette was let loose to disrupt the competitors and would often attack them by goring them.[13][14][15] The vachettes were not trained in any way and were allowed to behave naturally. Individual cows were selected for the programme based upon their temperament.[16]
In the 2000s, a cow calledRosa became a popular star of the programme. She appeared in every episode from her debut in 2004 to the series' end in 2009 and appeared in the 2013 anniversary special.[17] With a black head and white body, she had a reputation for being very aggressive towards contestants but having intelligence to knock down sets when needed.[18][19] She was later given her own game called "Rosa Strike".[19] Even after the programme finished, fans of the programme would visit the Labat's farm to see Rosa. When she died in 2020, it made national news in France.[19]
In 2019, it was announced byFrance Télévisions thatIntervilles would be revived but that it would not include the vachettes. There was a negative reaction to this from towns insouthern France, where bullfighting is common. They accused the network of having been cowed by animal rights activists and moving towards "Anglo-Saxon customs".[20] The former hostNagui supported the move saying he did not like seeing how the animals were treated when he was the host. In response to that statement, Teddy Labat countered by saying that the animals were treated well and pointed out that Nagui took no interest in their well-being behind the scenes during filming.[21] Fifty towns and cities agreed to take part in a boycott of the revival until the cows were returned.[22] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in France, filming for the revival was delayed.[23]
| Year | Channel | Hosts | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 |  | Guy Lux | Simone Garnier [fr] | Roger Couderc [fr] | Léon Zitrone | — | — | |
| 1963 | Claude Savarit | |||||||
| 1964 |  | |||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1971 | ||||||||
| 1973 | ||||||||
| 1985 |  | |||||||
| 1986 | .svg) | |||||||
| 1987 |  | |||||||
| 1988 | ||||||||
| 1989 | ||||||||
| 1990 |  | |||||||
| 1991 | Denise Fabre | Philippe Risoli | Patrick Roy andPascal Brunner [fr] | Évelyne Leclercq [fr] | ||||
| Year | Channel | Primary hosts | Secondary hosts | Referees | ||||
| 1995 | | Jean-Pierre Foucault | Fabrice [fr] | Nathalie Simon [fr] | — | Olivier Chiabodo [fr] | — | |
| 1996 | ||||||||
| 1997 | Thierry Roland | |||||||
| 1998 | Julien Courbet | Delphine Anaïs [fr] | Laurent Mariotte [fr] | Robert Wurtz | ||||
| 1999 | Fabrice | Nathalie Simon [fr] | Olivier Grandjean [fr] | |||||
| 2004 |  | Nagui | Juliette Arnaud [fr] | — | — | — | Robert Wurtz (until Tours-Saintes 2007) | Olivier Alleman [fr] (assistant) |
| 2005 | Patrice Laffont | Nathalie Simon [fr] | Philippe Corti [fr] | |||||
| 2006 |  | Tex [fr] | Julien Lepers | Vanessa Dolmen [fr] | ||||
| 2007 | Olivier Alleman [fr] (from Tours-Saintes 2007 onwards) | — | ||||||
| 2008 | Alessandro di Sarno | Sandra Murugiah (assistant) | ||||||
| 2009 | Nelson Monfort | Philippe Candeloro | — | Michel Ménétrier (assistant) | ||||
| 2013 |  | Olivier Minne | Nathalie Simon [fr] | Big Ali | Tex | |||
| 2025 |  | Nagui | Bruno Guillon | Camille Cerf | Valérie Bègue | Magali Ripoll [fr] | Yoann Riou [fr] | |
Lux also created and hosted the following spin-offs:
There was another international version,Intervilles International (later also known, in English, asThe Biggest Game Show in the World) aired from 2005 to 2016 in which several teams compete, each of which represents its country. The referee wasOlivier Grandjean [fr] for all twelve seasons, originally filmed at various locations in France, before moving toBudapest, Hungary for the tenth season in 2014 andHainan Island, China the following year. This version was produced by Mistral Productions and has been broadcast in the majority of participating countries.
| Country | Name | Host(s) | Channel | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria | Intervilles Algeria | Unknown | Canal Algérie | 2015 |
 Armenia | Լավագույներից Լավագույները (The Best of the Best) | Unknown | H2 | 2011 |
 Belarus | Битва титанов (Clash of the Titans) |
| ONT | 2009–2011 |
 China | 城市之间 Intercities (Between Cities) | Zhen Cheng | CCTV-5 | 2015 |
 Czech Republic | Aréna národů (Arena of Nations) | Prima televize | 2012 | |
 Egypt | The Biggest Game Show in the World | Dalia Buhairi | MBC | 2014 |
 France | Intervilles International |
| Gulli | 2014–2016 |
 Greece | The Biggest Game Show in the World | Nadia Boule | ANT1 | 2013–2014 |
 Hungary | Játék határok nélkül [hu] (Game Without Borders) |
| M1 (2014–15) Duna (2015–16) | 2014–2016 |
 Indonesia | The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | Arie Untung | RCTI | 2012, 2014 |
 Kazakhstan | Namys Doda (Намыс дода) | Nurlan Koyanbayev | Qazaqstan | 2015 |
 Philippines | The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | TV5 | 2012 | |
 Romania | Saint-Tropez Games | Dan Negru | Antena 1 | 2006 |
 Russia | Большие гонки (The Great Race) |
| Channel One | 2005–2012, 2014 |
 Spain | Grand Prix Internacional [es] | Antonio Montero Díaz | FORTA | 2014 |
 Thailand | The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | Phoomjai Tangsanga | Channel 5 | 2012 |
 Ukraine | Ігри патріотів (Patriot Games) | Pavel Kostitsyn | 2005–2006 | |
| Битва націй (Battle of Nations) |
| ICTV | 2011 | |
 Vietnam | The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | Unknown | VTC 9 | 2012 |
Intervilles has been adapted in several countries. These versions, separate from the European and international shows, include:[24]
Argentina:El Gran Juego de las Provincias (El Trece, 2006)
Australia:Almost Anything Goes! (Network Ten, 1976–1978) andIt's a Knockout (Network Ten, 1985–1987 and 2011–2012)
Belgium and
Netherlands:Zeakamp (BRT andNCRV, 1968–1987) andStedenspel [nl] (EXQI Plus [nl] andNPO 3, 2010) China: national and winter shows were aired onCCTV[25][26]
Germany:Telematch (WDR (ARD), 1967–1980),Spielohne Grenzen (Das Erste, 1989)[27] andDeutschland Champions (Das Erste, 2003–2004)[28]
Ivory Coast:Intervilles (RTI 1, 2014)[29][30]
Morocco:Intervilles (TVM, 2000)[31]
Portugal:Campeões Nacionais (SIC, 2003) andTodos Gostam do Verão [es] (SIC, 2009)
South Africa:Crazy Games (SABC 2, 2006) andSummer Games (SABC 2, 2007–2009)[32] Spain:Cuando calienta el Sol [es] (TVE1, 1995),El Grand Prix del verano (TVE1, 1996–2005, 2023–present;FORTA, 2007–2009),Peque Prix [es] (TVE1, 1998–2000;Canal 9 andTelemadrid, 2007) andGrand Prix Xpress [es] (CMMedia andCanal Extremadura, 2010–2011)
Sweden:Stadskampen [sv] (TV4, 1997–2001 and 2005) andPostkodkampen [sv] (TV4, 2010–2011)
United Kingdom:It's a Knockout (BBC1, 1966–1988;ITV, 1990;S4C (Wales), 1991–1994;Channel 5, 1999–2001),Anything Goes! (BBC1, 1984–1985),Fair Game (BBC1, 1985) andSimply the Best (ITV, 2004)
Northern Ireland:Town Challenge (BBC One Northern Ireland, 1997–2002)[33][34]
Wales:Siarabang (S4C, 1989)
United States:Almost Anything Goes (1975–1976) andJunior Almost Anything Goes! (1976–1977) aired on ABC, whileAll Star Anything Goes! (1977–1978) was syndicated. Vietnam:Trò chơi liên tỉnh [vi] (VTV3, 1996–1998)
Media related toIntervilles at Wikimedia Commons