Competition format

General information

Ligue 1 McDonald's is France’s elite professional football championship. The top 18 French clubs compete each season, playing each other home and away.
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Since the 2023-24 season, there have been several changes, including the reduction to 18 clubs and UEFA's reform of the Champions League format. This reform has allowed 3 French clubs to qualify directly for the Champions League group stages.

Beginning of the season : Friday 15th August 2025.
Final matchday : Saturday 16th May 2026.

At the end of the Ligue 1 McDonald's season, the first six clubs will be qualified for European competitions, and the bottom two will be relegated to Ligue 2 BKT. The first two Ligue 2 BKT teams will be promoted to Ligue 1 McDonald's. A relegation/promotion play-off between the 16th placed team of Ligue 1 McDonald's and the winner of the Ligue 2 BKT play-offs (between teams ranked 3 to 5) will be played on May 21^st and 24^th 2026..

Ligue 1 Matchday schedule (CET time)

Ranking

Key Dates

Matchday 3

(31/08)

Olympique Lyonnais - Olympique de Marseille

Matchday 5

(21/09)

Olympique de Marseille - Paris Saint-Germain

Matchday 7

(05/10)

LOSC Lille - Paris Saint-Germain

Matchday 12

(09/11)

Olympique Lyonnais - Paris Saint-Germain

Matchday 15

(07/12)

LOSC Lille - Olympique de Marseille

Matchday 17

(04/01)

Paris Saint-Germain - Paris FC

Matchday 21

(08/02)

Paris Saint-Germain - Olympique de Marseille

Matchday 25

(08/03)

Paris Saint-Germain - AS Monaco

Matchday 28

(05/04)

RC Lens - LOSC Lille

Matchday 33-34

(09/05 - 16/05)

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