Intervilles () is a French comedy game 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 the vachettes).
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 . Its success led to the launch of the European version, Jeux sans frontières, as well as the winter versions, Interneige and then Interglace.
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 on Gulli from 2014 to 2016. 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 by France Télévisions' Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez that the show would be revived in the summer of 2025.
In the 1990s, said the games were rigged to keep up suspense by soaping up surfaces for the team in the lead. This was after Chiabodo had been fired from the programme by TF1 after having been accused of cheating by Le Canard enchaîné newspaper. Chiabodo was accused of helping Puy du Fou win in 1996 and 1997 by indicating quiz answers to them using his hands. The mayor of Mont-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"). Puy du Fou sued for defamation and the losers of the previous year Pont-Saint-Esprit also sued Chiabodo, alleging that he tried to put their contestants off by making negative comments towards them. Chiabodo sued Le Canard enchaîné for 400,000 French franc but was only awarded a token 1 franc in damages.
In 2013, a special anniversary programme was broadcast on France 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.
In the 2000s, a cow called Rosa 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. 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. She was later given her own game called "Rosa Strike". 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.
In 2019, it was announced by France Télévisions that Intervilles would be revived but that it would not include the vachettes. There was a negative reaction to this from towns in southern France, where bullfighting is common. They accused the network of having been cowed by animal rights activists and moving towards "Anglo-Saxon customs". The former host Nagui 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. Fifty towns and cities agreed to take part in a boycott of the revival until the cows were returned. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, filming for the revival was delayed.
1962 | Guy Lux | Léon Zitrone | rowspan="12" | rowspan="12" | ||||
1963 | Claude Savarit | |||||||
1964 | ||||||||
1970 | ||||||||
1971 | ||||||||
1973 | ||||||||
1985 | ||||||||
1986 | ||||||||
1987 | ||||||||
1988 | ||||||||
1989 | ||||||||
1990 | ||||||||
1991 | Denise Fabre | Philippe Risoli | Patrick Roy and | |||||
1995 | Jean-Pierre Foucault | colspan="2" rowspan="3" | rowspan="5" | |||||
1996 | ||||||||
1997 | Thierry Roland | |||||||
1998 | Julien Courbet | Robert Wurtz | ||||||
1999 | Fabrice | |||||||
2004 | Nagui | rowpsan="1" | rowspan="2" | Robert Wurtz (until Tours-Saintes 2007) | (assistant) | |||
2005 | Patrice Laffont | |||||||
2006 | Julien Lepers | |||||||
2007 | (from Tours-Saintes 2007 onwards) | |||||||
2008 | Alessandro di Sarno | Sandra Murugiah (assistant) | ||||||
2009 | Nelson Monfort | Philippe Candeloro | rowspan="2" colspan="2" | Michel Ménétrier (assistant) | ||||
2013 | Olivier Minne | Big Ali | Tex | |||||
2025 | Nagui | Bruno Guillon | Camille Cerf | Valérie Bègue | ||||
Intervilles Algeria | Canal Algérie | 2015 | ||
Լավագույներից Լավագույները (The Best of the Best) | H2 | 2011 | ||
Битва титанов (Clash of the Titans) | All-National TV | 2009–2011 | ||
城市之间 Intercities (Between Cities) | Zhen Cheng | CCTV-5 | 2015 | |
Aréna národů (Arena of Nations) | Prima televize | 2012 | ||
The Biggest Game Show in the World | Dalia Buhairi | MBC | 2014 | |
Intervilles International | Gulli | 2014–2016 | ||
The Biggest Game Show in the World | Nadia Boule | ANT1 | 2013–2014 | |
(Game Without Borders) | M1 (2014–15) Duna (2015–16) | 2014–2016 | ||
The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | Arie Untung | RCTI | 2012, 2014 | |
Namys Doda ( Намыс дода) | Nurlan Koyanbayev | Qazaqstan | 2015 | |
The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | TV5 | 2012 | ||
Saint-Tropez Games | Dan Negru | Antena 1 | 2006 | |
Большие гонки (The Great Race) | Channel One | 2005–2012, 2014 | ||
Antonio Montero Díaz | FORTA | 2014 | ||
The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | Phoomjai Tangsanga | Channel 5 | 2012 | |
Ігри патріотів (Patriot Games) | Pavel Kostitsyn | 2005–2006 | ||
Битва націй (Battle of Nations) | ICTV | 2011 | ||
The Biggest Game Show in the World Asia | VTC 9 | 2012 | ||
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