Les Ricochets en Territoire

Les Ricochets en Territoire: thirty years of street culture

Created in 1996 by the City of Fontenay-le-Comte, the Les Ricochets festival has become a must-see event of the Vendée summer. Initially confined to the historic center of the Renaissance city, it gradually spread to neighboring communes from 2021 onwards, adopting its current name of Les Ricochets en Territoire to reflect this new ambition: to circulate culture as close as possible to the inhabitants of the Pays de Fontenay-Vendée.

A travelling and popular festival

The principle is simple and generous: for six weeks, street companies take over the squares, pedestrian streets, parks, and gardens of several communes in Sud Vendée. Each stop is designed as a unique artistic event, rooted in the landscape and identity of the place that hosts it. The public discovers an eclectic program composed of contemporary circus, street theatre, dance, music, and unclassifiable forms, always free of charge.

Companies from all over Europe

Over the years, Les Ricochets have hosted French and international companies, from Spain, Belgium, and elsewhere, presenting original creations mixing acrobatics, juggling, clowning, Chinese pole, aerial dance, and participatory performances. The shows are accessible to all audiences, from toddlers to seniors, in a joyful, accessible, and profoundly human spirit.

Strong territorial roots

Supported by the Communauté de communes Pays de Fontenay-Vendée and the City of Fontenay-le-Comte, the festival is part of an ambitious cultural policy aimed at diversifying the offering and making it accessible to all inhabitants of the territory. The communes of Pissotte, Les Velluire-sur-Vendée, Saint-Cyr-des-Gâts, Saint-Martin-de-Fraigneau, and many others host the companies in turn, transforming each village into an open-air stage in the heart of the Marais Poitevin.