Ligue 1

Ligue 1 is contested by 18 clubs each season. Every club plays the other 17 twice — once at home, once away — for 34 matches in total. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat. The club with the most points at the end of the season is the champion. The clubs finishing in the bottom two positions are automatically relegated to Ligue 2, with the 16th-placed club entering a promotion/relegation play-off against the winner of the Ligue 2 play-offs.

The professional French championship began in 1932, although national league football was interrupted during the Second World War. The league size has changed several times across its history — it was reduced from 20 to 18 clubs ahead of the 2023-24 season, with four clubs relegated and only two promoted in the transitional 2022-23 season. The competition is run by the Ligue de Football Professionnel under the authority of the French Football Federation.

The season usually runs from mid-August to late May, with a winter break around late December and early January. Most matches are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with selected fixtures on Friday or Sunday evenings for television. From the 2025-26 season, tiebreakers for clubs level on points are, in order, overall goal difference, head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, goals scored across the season, wins, away wins, disciplinary record, and finally drawing lots.

The reduction from 20 to 18 clubs in 2023 brought Ligue 1 closer to the Bundesliga's size and shorter season. The change was partly motivated by the wider European discussion about player workload and the increasing number of midweek matches in European competition. Clubs relegated in the transitional 2022-23 season faced unusual circumstances because four clubs went down and only two came up.

The two Ligue 1 clubs finishing in the bottom two positions at the end of the season are automatically relegated to Ligue 2. The 16th-placed Ligue 1 club then plays a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off against the winner of the Ligue 2 play-offs. In Ligue 2, the top two finishers are promoted automatically, while the clubs finishing third, fourth and fifth enter the play-off route for the remaining place.

The current structure was introduced after the reduction to 18 clubs in 2023. In the transitional 2022-23 season, four Ligue 1 clubs were relegated and only two Ligue 2 clubs were promoted. The modern format keeps the bottom of the Ligue 1 table competitive across more of the season, while limiting automatic movement between the divisions.

Under the current UEFA access list, the top three Ligue 1 finishers qualify automatically for the Champions League league phase, while the fourth-placed club enters the Champions League qualifying rounds. France also receives places in the Europa League and Conference League, with the exact distribution depending on the UEFA access list, domestic cup results, and any UEFA title-holder or performance-spot adjustments.

The Coupe de France winner qualifies for the Europa League. If the winner has already qualified for the Champions League through their Ligue 1 finish, the place passes to the next-best Ligue 1 finisher not already in European competition. In a typical season, Ligue 1 therefore sends several clubs into UEFA competitions across the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.

Ligue 1 was founded in 1932 as the National after the French Football Federation voted to professionalise the country's football the previous year. The competition was renamed Division 1 from 1933 and Ligue 1 in 2002. Olympique Lillois won the inaugural title in 1932-33, defeating Cannes 4-3 in a title play-off match. National league football was interrupted during the Second World War before the championship resumed after liberation.

The competition has been dominated by different clubs across different eras. Reims shaped the 1950s, Saint-Étienne the 1960s and 1970s, Bordeaux and Monaco the 1980s and 1990s, Marseille at the turn of the 1990s, and Olympique Lyonnais the early 2000s. Paris Saint-Germain have defined the modern era, but Ligue 1's identity has also been shaped by clubs such as Marseille, Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Monaco, Nantes, Lille, Lens, Bordeaux, Reims, Nice, and Rennes. PSG's 2025 Champions League win — the first European Cup or Champions League title for the club — confirmed their position at the head of French football and at the top of the European game.