Ligue 1

Ligue 1

Organising body	Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP)
Founded	1930; 94 years ago (1930) (officially) 2002; 22 years ago (2002) (as Ligue 1)
Country	France (17 teams)
Other club(s) from	Monaco (1 team)
Confederation	UEFA
Number of clubs	18 (since 2023–24)
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Ligue 2
Domestic cup(s)	Coupe de France Trophée des Champions
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League
Current champions	Paris Saint-Germain (12th title) (2023–24)
Most championships	Paris Saint-Germain (12 titles)
Most appearances	Mickaël Landreau (618)
Top goalscorer	Delio Onnis (299)
TV partners	List of broadcasters
Website	ligue1.com
Current: 2024–25 Ligue 1

Ligue 1 (a.k.a. League 1),^[A] officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's for sponsorship purposes,^[1][2] is the top-level association football league in France located at the top of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Ligue 1 is contested by 18 clubs (since the 2023–24 season) and operates on a system of promotion and relegation from and to Ligue 2.

Seasons run from August to May. Clubs play two matches against each of the other teams in the league – one home and one away – totalling to 34 matches over the course of the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January. As of 2024, Ligue 1 is considered one of the top national leagues, ranked fifth in Europe, behind England's Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A and Germany's Bundesliga.^[3]

Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September 1932 under the name National before switching to Division 1 after a year of existence. It continued to operate under that name until 2002, when it adopted its current name. Paris Saint-Germain are the most successful club with twelve league titles, while Lyon is the club that has won the most consecutive titles (seven between 2002 and 2008). Saint-Étienne was the first club with ten titles. With the presence of 73 seasons in Ligue 1, Marseille holds the record for most seasons among the elite, while Paris Saint-Germain hold the league record for longevity with 50 consecutive seasons (from 1974 to present). Nantes is the team with the longest consecutive unbeaten streak (32 matches) and the fewest number of defeats (one match) in a single season, doing so in the 1994–95 campaign. In addition, Nantes also holds the record for the longest time without losing at home with a run of 92 matches from May 1976 to April 1981.

The current champions are Paris Saint-Germain, who won a record twelfth title in the 2023–24 season. The league has been won on multiple occasions by foreign-based club Monaco, the presence of which within the league makes it a cross-border competition.^[4]

Ahead of the 2023–24 season, the number of teams in the league was reduced to 18; four teams in the 2022–23 Ligue 1 were relegated to Ligue 2 and only two teams in Ligue 2 were promoted to Ligue 1.^[5]

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