The 1996–97 French Rugby Union Championship was played by 20 teams

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successfu ...

won their 14th title, beating Bourgoin in the final.

Preliminary round

The 20 team were divided in the preliminary phase in two pools of 10. The first eight team of each pool were admitted to "Round of 16". The last two were relegated in second division.

Last 16

Last 8

Semifinals

Final

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 French Rugby Union Championship French Rugby Championship French rugby union championship

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...