The French football league system, also known as the French football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, and includes one Spanish side. At the top two levels of the system is the

Ligue de Football Professionnel The (, ''Professional Football League''), commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France and Monaco. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority of the French Footba ...

, which consists of two professional national divisions,

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 ...

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. Below that are a number of leagues run by the Fédération Française de Football. At level 3 is the semi-professional

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 ...

. Below that is the

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system be ...

(level 4), which is divided into four parallel regional divisions, followed by the

Championnat National 3 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

(level 5), which is divided into eleven parallel regional divisions. Underneath that are many more regional and departmental leagues and divisions. Clubs finishing the season at or near the top of their division may be eligible for promotion to a higher division. Similarly, clubs finishing at or near the bottom of their division may be relegated to a lower division.

Men (Since 2024)

National leagues

Starting in 2017–18 there were changes at levels 3 and 4 (in name only) and level 5 (significant restructuring and rename).

Regional leagues

As of the 2022–23 season, this is the structure of the amateur regional leagues, operating directly below the national leagues.

Departmental leagues

As of the 2019–20 season, this is the structure of the amateur departmental leagues, operating at various levels below the regional leagues.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region

Bretagne region

Centre-Val de Loire region

Corsica region

There are no district divisions in Corsica. The system in Corsica goes up to Régional 4.

Grand Est region

Hauts-de-France region

Provence Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region

Normandy region

Nouvelle Aquitaine region

Occitanie region

Paris Île-de-France region

Clubs in the arrondissements of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

are divided between the three surrounding suburban districts. The District of

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

includes 6th, 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th, the District of

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

has the 9th, 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th, 20th and the District of

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

includes 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 12th and 13th.

Pays de la Loire region

Men (National leagues only) (2017-2024)

National leagues

Starting in 2017–18 there were changes at Levels 3 and 4 (in name only) and Level 5 (significant restructuring and rename).

Men (pre-2017)

National leagues

The 2016–17 season is the last of the current league structure. From 2017–18 there will be changes at Levels 3 and 4 (in name only) and Level 5 (significant restructuring and rename).

Regional leagues

For the 2016–17 season, this was the structure of the regional leagues, operating directly below the national leagues. Despite the varying names given some regions, level 6 leagues are generically referred to as

Division d'Honneur Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...

or DH.

Departmental leagues

For the 2016–17 season, this was the structure of the departmental leagues, operating at various levels below the regional leagues. ;League of Alsace Officially, the League of Alsace does not include departmental districts. The organization of the championships, with a single DH and departmental groups at lower levels wrongly conveys the impression that there is a district of Haut-Rhin and a district of Bas-Rhin (also sometimes called District Nord Alsace and District Sud Alsace). Below level 13 is a separate "B" league structure for reserve and other secondary teams. Teams from these divisions can be promoted to level 13 and higher, but first teams from level 13 are not relegated. ;League of Aquitaine ;Atlantique League ;League of Auvergne ;League of Basse-Normandie ; League of Bourgogne ;League of Bretagne ;League of Centre-Val de Loire ;League of Centre-Ouest ;League of Champagne-Ardenne ;League of Corsica There is no district championship in Corsica. ;League of Franche-Comté ;League of Languedoc-Roussillon ;League of Lorraine ;League of Maine ;League of Provence Alpes-Cote d'Azur ;League of Midi-Pyrénées ;League of Nord Pas-de-Calais ;League of Haute-Normandie ;League of Paris Île-de-France Clubs in the arrondissements of

are divided between the three surrounding suburban districts. The District of

includes 6th, 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th, the District of

has the 9th, 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th, 20th and the District of

includes 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 12th and 13th. ;League of Picardy ;League of Rhône-Alpes

Women

National leagues

From 2023–24 onwards :

Notes

References

External links

FFF Regional Leagues

FFF Districts

- French football league tables, records & statistics database. {{DEFAULTSORT:French Football League System