THE FRENCH LIGUE 1

FRENCH LIGUE 1

AN OVERVIEW

Ligue 1 (Première division or Division 1 until 2003, now officially called Ligue 1) is the top division of French football, one of two divisions making up the LFP, the other being Ligue 2. One member club, AS Monaco, is based in the independent Principality of Monaco, rather than in France proper. Ligue 1 is one of the top national leagues, currently ranked fourth in Europe behind the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, and ahead of German Fußball-Bundesliga.

HISTORY

Ligue 1 has been an all-professional league since its inception in 1932. Because of World War II, the LFP suspended play for the 1939–1940 through 1944–1945 seasons, although its member clubs continued playing in regional competitions. (For the 1943–44 season, the Vichy regime abolished professionalism, but professional clubs operated during the other war years.) Since the end of World War II, the French first division has switched several times between an 18- and a 20-team format, the latter being in force today and having the preference of clubs in spite of a busier schedule for the players.
The 20 Ligue 1 teams play each other twice (home and away) during the season for a 38-match schedule. At the end of the season, the bottom three teams in the division are relegated to Ligue 2, and are replaced by the top three teams of Ligue 2. This particular promotion and relegation format, in place since 1995, is a relative novelty in the French top flight. The traditional format has long been direct relegation of the bottom two teams and a play-off between the third-last first-division team and the winner of the second-division play-offs.
Currently, the top three teams in Ligue 1 qualify for the Champions League, with the top two proceeding directly to the group phase. The third-placed team enters in the final qualifying round. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams qualify for the UEFA Cup. The sixth- and seventh-placed teams can also qualify, depending on results in the two domestic cup competitions

Ligue 1 is generally regarded as competently run, with good planning of fixtures, complete and consistently enforced rules, timely resolution of issues, and adequate escalation procedures of judicial disputes to national or international institutions. It has faced three significant corruption scandals in its history (Olympique d'Antibes in 1933, Red Star in the 1950s, and Olympique de Marseille in 1993) and has preserved its reputation every time through swift and appropriately severe punishment of the guilty parties.


LIST OF FRENCH FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS

Amateurs (1894-1929) and professionals (since 1932) champions

Year Winner Runner Up

1893-94 Standard Athletic Club, Meudon
White Rovers Paris
1894-95 Standard Athletic Club, Meudon
White Rovers Paris
1895-96 Club Français Paris White Rovers Paris
1896-97 Standard Athletic Club, Meudon
White Rovers Paris
1897-98 Standard Athletic Club, Meudon
Club Français Paris
1898-99 Le Havre Club Français Paris
1899-00 Le Havre Club Français Paris
1900-01 Standard Athletic Club, Meudon
Le Havre
1901-02 RC Roubaix RC Paris
1902-03 RC Roubaix RC Paris
1903-04 RC Roubaix Paris United SC
1904-05 Gallia Club Paris RC Roubaix
1905-06 RC Roubaix CA Paris
1906-07 RC Paris RC Roubaix
1907-08 RC Roubaix RC Paris
1908-09 Stade Helvétique Marseille CA Paris
1909-10 Tourcoing Stade Helvétique Marseille
1910-11 Stade Helvétique Marseille RC Paris
1911-12 Saint-Raphaël Le Perreux (former AS Française Paris)
1912-13 Stade Helvétique Marseille Rouen
1913-14 Lille Sète
1918-19 Le Havre Olympique Marseille
1926-27 CA Paris Amiens
1927-28 Stade Français Paris Montpellier
1928-29 Olympique Marseille Club Français Paris
1932-33 Lille Cannes
1933-34 Sète Fives
1934-35 Sochaux Strasbourg
1935-36 RC Paris Lille
1936-37 Olympique Marseille Sochaux
1937-38 Sochaux Olympique Marseille
1938-39 Sète Olympique Marseille
1944-45 Rouen Lyon
1945-46 Lille Saint-Etienne
1946-47 CO Roubaix Reims
1947-48 Olympique Marseille Lille
1948-49 Reims Lille
1949-50 Bordeaux Lille
1950-51 Nice Lille
1951-52 Nice Bordeaux
1952-53 Reims Sochaux
1953-54 Lille Reims
1954-55 Reims Toulouse
1955-56 Nice Lens
1956-57 Saint-Etienne Lens
1957-58 Reims Nîmes
1958-59 Nice Nîmes
1959-60 Reims Nîmes
1960-61 Monaco RC Paris
1961-62 Reims RC Paris
1962-63 Monaco Reims
1963-64 Saint-Etienne Monaco
1964-65 Nantes Bordeaux
1965-66 Nantes Bordeaux
1966-67 Saint-Etienne Nantes
1967-68 Saint-Etienne Nice
1968-69 Saint-Etienne Bordeaux
1969-70 Saint-Etienne Olympique Marseille
1970-71 Olympique Marseille Saint-Etienne
1971-72 Olympique Marseille Nîmes
1972-73 Nantes Nice
1973-74 Saint-Etienne Nantes
1974-75 Saint-Etienne Olympique Marseille
1975-76 Saint-Etienne Nice
1976-77 Nantes Lens
1977-78 Monaco Nantes
1978-79 Strasbourg Nantes
1979-80 Nantes Sochaux
1980-81 Saint-Etienne Nantes
1981-82 Monaco Saint-Etienne
1982-83 Nantes Bordeaux
1983-84 Bordeaux Monaco
1984-85 Bordeaux Nantes
1985-86 Paris SG Nantes
1986-87 Bordeaux Olympique Marseille
1987-88 Monaco Bordeaux
1988-89 Olympique Marseille Paris SG
1989-90 Olympique Marseille Bordeaux
1990-91 Olympique Marseille Monaco
1991-92 Olympique Marseille Monaco
1992-93 Olympique Marseille (stripped of title) Paris SG
1993-94 Paris SG Olympique Marseille
1994-95 Nantes Lyon
1995-96 Auxerre Paris SG
1996-97 Monaco Paris SG
1997-98 Lens Metz
1998-99 Bordeaux Olympique Marseille
1999-00 Monaco Paris SG
2000-01 Nantes Lyon
2001-02 Lyon Lens
2002-03 Lyon Monaco
2003-04 Lyon Paris SG
2004-05 Lyon Lille
2005-06 Lyon Bordeaux
2006-07 Lyon Olympique Marseille
2007-08 Lyon Bordeaux
2008-09 Bordeaux Marseille