Overview
Ligue 1 is the top division of French football and Europe's fifth major league. Historically defined by its role as a proving ground for the continent's best young talent, the league has been dominated in the modern era by Paris Saint-Germain since the 2011 Qatar Sports Investments takeover — while clubs like Marseille, Lyon, Monaco and Lille continue to compete for European qualification and shape France's steady stream of world-class exports.
This season
The 2025-26 Ligue 1 season is the first full campaign of the post-Kylian Mbappé era at PSG, with Luis Enrique building a younger, more collective side around Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Vitinha. The chasing pack of Marseille, Monaco, Lyon and Lille is unusually competitive, while Ligue 1 has slimmed to 18 clubs since 2023-24 to match the Bundesliga.
Competition format
18 clubs play each other home and away for 34 rounds between mid-August and mid-May. Three points for a win, one for a draw. The top three qualify for the Champions League group stage, with a fourth possible via UEFA's coefficient bonus. Fifth enters the Europa League, sixth into the Conference League play-off — and the Coupe de France winner claims the remaining Europa League spot.
Qualification, promotion & relegation
The bottom two clubs are directly relegated to Ligue 2, replaced by the top two automatically promoted second-tier sides. The 16th-placed Ligue 1 team plays a two-legged relegation play-off against the winner of a Ligue 2 play-off between the sides finishing third to fifth. The system was tightened when the league shrank to 18 in 2023.
Key clubs
- **Paris Saint-Germain** — 12-time French champions and the dominant force since 2011.
- **Olympique de Marseille** — 1993 Champions League winners, still the only French club to lift the European Cup.
- **AS Monaco** — Historic French champions and Europe's premier young-player development club.
- **Olympique Lyonnais** — Seven consecutive titles in the 2000s, rebuilding under John Textor ownership.
- **Lille OSC** — Shock 2021 champions who ended PSG's decade of continuous dominance.
History
Ligue 1 was founded in 1932 as the country's first fully professional league. Saint-Étienne dominated the 1960s and 70s with 10 titles, Marseille the early 90s, and Lyon set a European domestic record with seven straight championships from 2001-08. PSG's Qatari-era investment reshaped the top of the table, but the league's true global reputation has always rested on player development — France's national-team success at the 2018 World Cup and 2022 Final drew heavily on players raised in Ligue 1 academies.
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Records and milestones
Paris Saint-Germain have won 12 Ligue 1 titles, all since 2012-13 following the club's Qatar Sports Investments takeover. Saint-Étienne remain the historical leaders with 10 titles, most of them in a 1960s and 1970s golden era. Marseille (9), Nantes (8) and Monaco (8) complete the group of clubs with multiple championships.
Delio Onnis holds the all-time scoring record with 299 goals between 1971 and 1986. Kylian Mbappé's 27 goals in 2023-24 gave him his fifth consecutive Ligue 1 Golden Boot before his move to Real Madrid — a run of individual dominance the modern game has rarely seen.
Broadcasting and revenue
Ligue 1's 2024-29 domestic broadcasting deal — sold to DAZN and beIN Sports after a difficult tender — is worth around €500 million per year. That total is well below the previous cycle and roughly a fifth of what the Premier League generates, which is why the LFP has aggressively pursued international rights growth and a possible private-equity partnership.
A 13% equity stake in the league's commercial arm was sold to CVC Capital Partners for €1.5 billion in 2022, giving clubs an up-front capital injection at the cost of a long-term share of future revenue.
How to watch worldwide
In France, DAZN carries eight live matches per round and beIN Sports carries one. beIN Sports holds the U.S. rights and streams via its own app and Fubo. Premier Sports carries U.K. and Ireland rights.
With Mbappé now at Real Madrid, the story of the season is what PSG's project looks like without him — a rebuild around Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and a younger, more balanced squad.
Frequently asked questions
- How many teams are in Ligue 1?
- 18 clubs since 2023-24, playing 34 matches each between August and May.
- Which French club has won the Champions League?
- Only Olympique de Marseille — the 1993 winners over AC Milan. Paris Saint-Germain reached their first Final in 2020.
- How many Ligue 1 teams qualify for European competition?
- Six in most seasons — three Champions League, one Europa League, one Conference League play-off, plus the Coupe de France winner.
- Who has won the most Ligue 1 titles?
- Saint-Étienne and Paris Saint-Germain are tied at the top of the modern era, though PSG have won 11 of the last 13.
- How many Ligue 1 titles have Paris Saint-Germain won?
- Twelve, all of them since the 2012-13 season following the club's Qatar Sports Investments takeover in 2011.
- Who holds the Ligue 1 all-time scoring record?
- Delio Onnis with 299 goals, scored between 1971 and 1986 for Reims, Monaco, Tours and Toulon.