Ligue 1 format 2026/27: relegation play-off and European places

Ligue 1, the top division in France, is a straightforward double round-robin: 18 clubs, 34 matchdays, three points for a win and one for a draw. The team that finishes first is champion and the bottom two go straight down to Ligue 2. The twist is 16th place, which leads to a two-legged play-off against a Ligue 2 side. When clubs finish level on points, overall goal difference decides before head-to-head results.

The format at a glance

The 18 clubs this season are Angers, Auxerre, Brest, Le Havre, Le Mans, Lens, Lille, Lorient, Lyon, Marseille, Monaco, Nice, Paris FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes, Strasbourg, Toulouse and Troyes. Troyes and Le Mans came up from Ligue 2, replacing Nantes and Metz, who were relegated at the end of 2025/26.

How the season runs

The campaign opened on Friday 21 August 2026 with Marseille against Strasbourg and finishes on Saturday 29 May 2027. One feature stands out this year: the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which runs the competition, has scheduled no midweek matchdays at all. Every round is played over a weekend.

Matchday 14, on the weekend of 12 December 2026, is the last before the winter break. The league returns with matchday 15 on the weekend of 2 January 2027.

The final two rounds are played as a multiplex, the French term for simultaneous kick-offs. On Saturday 22 May and Saturday 29 May 2027 every match starts at the same time, so no club takes the field already knowing a rival's result.

Kick-off times depend on broadcast scheduling and may change.

What happens when clubs are level on points

The LFP rewrote its criteria in summer 2025 and removed away goals from the list. Article 518 ter of the competition regulations sets this order:

1. Overall goal difference
2. Points won in the matches between the clubs concerned
3. Goal difference in those matches
4. Goals scored across the season
5. Number of wins
6. Number of away wins
7. Disciplinary record: a yellow card counts 1 point and a red card 3, and the lower total ranks higher
8. Drawing of lots

There is one condition worth knowing during the season. Criteria 2 and 3 apply only once both matches between the tied clubs have been played. Until then the table skips to criteria 4 to 7. That is why two sides level on points and goal difference can swap places after their return fixture.

Our guide to league table tiebreakers sets the French order alongside other major leagues, and the Premier League format guide shows how England handles the same question.

Relegation, the play-off and promotion

Three clubs are in danger at the bottom, but only two are certain to go down.

• 17th and 18th are relegated directly.
• 16th enters the relegation play-off, known in France as the barrage.
• The top two in Ligue 2 are promoted directly, provided they meet the LFP's entry requirements.

The opponent for the 16th-placed club comes out of the Ligue 2 play-offs, contested by the sides finishing third, fourth and fifth. Fifth travels to fourth, and the winner then travels to third. Both are single matches with no extra time: if the score is level after 90 minutes, a penalty shoot-out follows immediately.

Then comes the barrage itself, over two legs. The Ligue 2 club hosts the first leg and the Ligue 1 club the second. The team with more goals over the two matches wins, and away goals carry no extra weight. If the aggregate score is level at the end of the second leg, two 15-minute periods of extra time are played, followed by penalties if needed; our guide to extra time and penalty shoot-outs explains the procedure. This season the first leg is set for Thursday 3 June 2027 and the return for Sunday 6 June.

The play-off does not always favour the top-flight side. In 2026 Nice, 16th in Ligue 1, stayed up by beating Saint-Étienne 4-1 at home after a 0-0 draw in the first leg. A year earlier Metz won promotion through the same route, as Saint-Étienne had in 2024.

How French clubs reach Europe

Seven French clubs earned European football from the 2025/26 table:

The second Europa League ticket is normally reserved for the Coupe de France winners. Because Lens won the cup and had already qualified through the league, it passed down to sixth place, and the Conference League place moved to seventh.

Lyon beat Sparta Praha in the third qualifying round (1-2, 3-0) but lost the play-off to Fenerbahçe, 3-2 on aggregate, and dropped into the Europa League league phase. Monaco reached the Conference League league phase by eliminating Górnik Zabrze.

Paris Saint-Germain entered the Champions League as holders twice over. They won the 2025 final and retained the trophy in Budapest in 2026, beating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

The exact allocation for 2027/28 will depend on UEFA's access list and on who wins the Coupe de France. For the competitions themselves, see the Champions League format and Europa League format guides.

The cups

The Coupe de France is run by the French Football Federation and its winners earn a European place. On 22 May 2026 Lens beat Nice 3-1 in the final at the Stade de France to lift the cup for the first time in their history.

The Trophée des Champions is the French super cup, between the league champions and the cup winners. The 2026 edition was played on Sunday 16 August at Lens's Stade Bollaert-Delelis, where the home side beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0, another first for the club.

Following Ligue 1 on ScoreMondo

The Ligue 1 table and fixtures page shows the standings and every matchday. On match nights, live football scores update with each goal and card, and every match page gathers events, statistics and line-ups. If you missed a round, yesterday's results are listed by day, and all competitions leads to the other leagues. In the apps you can add a club to your favourites and switch on goal alerts.

A short history

France has had a professional championship since 1932, and Olympique Lillois were the first champions in 1932/33. Long known as Division 1, the competition was renamed Ligue 1 in 2002 and has had 18 clubs since 2023/24.

Paris Saint-Germain lead the roll of honour with 14 titles. The last five came in a row, a first for the club. Saint-Étienne follow with 10, then Marseille (9), Monaco and Nantes (8 each), Lyon (7), and Reims and Bordeaux (6 each). All seven of Lyon's titles came consecutively between 2002 and 2008, a run that remains the record.

Frequently asked questions

How many teams are relegated from Ligue 1?

Two go down automatically: 17th and 18th. The club in 16th becomes the third if it loses the play-off against the winner of the Ligue 2 play-offs.

How does the Ligue 1 relegation play-off work?

It is a two-legged tie. The Ligue 2 club hosts the first leg, the Ligue 1 club the second. If the aggregate score is level, extra time and then penalties decide it.

What is the first tiebreaker in Ligue 1?

Overall goal difference. Head-to-head points and head-to-head goal difference come next, followed by goals scored.

How many clubs play in Ligue 1?

Eighteen since 2023/24. Each club plays 34 matches.

Is there a winter break in Ligue 1?

Yes. In 2026/27 it follows matchday 14 on the weekend of 12 December, and play resumes on the weekend of 2 January 2027.

Who has won the most French league titles?

Paris Saint-Germain, with 14. Saint-Étienne are second with 10.