The 2015–16 Ligue 2 season was the 77th season since its establishment.
Teams
There are 20 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from
Championnat National
The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...
replacing the three teams that were relegated to the same level, and three relegated teams from
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
replacing the three teams that were promoted to the same level. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the
DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.
The first team to officially join the division for the 2015–16 was
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
, who were relegated from
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
on 2 May 2015 as results on the day went against them. They were joined a week later by
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
, after a 4–0 home defeat against
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginn ...
. The last relegated club were
Evian
Evian (, ; , stylized as evian) is a French brand that bottles mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva.
Evian is owned by Danone, a French multinational corporation. In addition to the miner ...
after a 2-1 defeat on 16 May 2015.
Red Star
A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...
were the first team promoted from
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
, after a 4–0 victory against
Istres
Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture.
Location
I ...
on 8 May 2015, marking their return to the professional levels after sixteen years in the amateur leagues.
Paris FC
Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...
and
Bourg-Péronnas only gained the right to promote on the last day of the season, when Paris FC drew 0–0 against
CA Bastia and Bourg-Péronnas won 1–0 against
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
.
Only 2 teams were planned to be promoted and relegated this season but the decision was later overturned by an appeal to the
Conseil d'État
In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establ ...
and the French Football Federation.
Stadia and locations
*
1 Bourg-Péronnas original stadium,
Stade Municipal de Péronnas, is not homologated to host professional matches. The club will play its home games in
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse (; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ancient Provinces of France, province of Bresse (). I ...
at
Stade Marcel-Verchère, home stadium of the
Bressane rugby union team, after the stadium's renovation. Bourg-Péronnas will play its first games at
Stade Jean Laville in
Gueugnon.
*
2 Red Star original stadium,
Stade Bauer, is not homologated to host professional matches. The club will play its home games at
Stade Pierre Brisson in
Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris.
The Communes of France, commune o ...
. Additionally, Red Star will host a number of games to be determined later at
Stade de France
Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...
in
Saint-Denis.
Personnel and kits
1Subject to change during the season.
Managerial changes
League table
Results
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
Source
Official Goalscorers' Standings
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 Ligue 2
Ligue 2 seasons
2
Fra