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Ligue 1 or the Ligue 1 Conforama is the top-flight of the French professional football league system. Regulated by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, 20 teams contest in the Ligue 1, subject to a system of promotion and relegation with the second division league of the French professional football system known as the Ligue 2.
The seasons start in August and end in May. There is a winter break before Christmas which lasts for 2 weeks before the league resumes in the second week of January.
Ligue 1 was started on the 11th of September 1932 and its original name was National.
AS Saint Etienne is the most successful team in the Ligue 1 with 10 league titles to their name. AS Monaco are the current champions after winning their 8th Ligue 1 title in the 2016-17 season.
Widely considered to be the ‘French Clasico’, this rivalry between the most populated cities in France did not have much to do with football at first. But the scene changed towards the turn of the millennium but it has somewhat grown colder now that PSG’s financial abilities have grown considerably over the last decade.
The ‘El Clasico’ of the French league. The rivalry is more about competitiveness than bad blood. Both the teams have been responsible for setting the standards in the French league and have dominated the league in the past.
The two most successful teams in the French league, Marseille and Saint-Etienne dominated French football in the 60s and 70s. The teams have had contrasting fortunes since then but the rivalry remains fierce.
Two famous academies known for producing the best players in the country are at the heart of this rivalry. One is ‘Les Verts’ that represented the working class of Saint-Etienne (an industrial city) famous for their high-octane game and ‘Les Canaris’ of Nantes which valued technical abilities over raw athleticism.
Paris Saint-Germain were unstoppable in the Ligue 1 last season. Owing to their immense financial strength which other clubs can’t dream to rival, PSG have been able to rope in some of the best players in the world right now and become a club that is even considered to be Champions League favourites by several fans and pundits alike.
PSG won their 8th Ligue 1 Title with 91 points in 38 games last season.
Paris Saint-Germain and LOSC Lille have qualified for the Champions League Group stage, Lyon will be involved in the Champions League Play offs and St. Etienne have qualified for the Europa League group stage. Caen and Guingamp have been relegated from Ligue 1.
