French Premier League

French Premier League 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 FC, is based in the independent Principality of Monaco rather than in France proper. Ligue 1 is one of the top national leagues, currently ranked fifth in Europe behind the FA Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and Fußball-Bundesliga.

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.

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