The French are fairly handy at the round ball game having won the 1998 World Cup and come second in 2006. Their club league however is not as well known as the English, Italian or Spanish leagues. In contrast to rugby, soccer is stronger in the North although Bordeaux, Monaco, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse are in the Premiere League.

If you get a chance to see a big league match in France it is worthwhile experience and a slice of local life. Crowd issues are not the same as in the UK so you don’t need to be as wary although it might be worth buying a local team hat or badge as insurance. There is bound to be a big club within an hour's drive of wherever you are.

The soccer mad town of Lens has a team in the First division and a stadium of 41,000 capacity which is more than the population. Marseille is also passionate about its OM (Olympique Marseille). They are up there with the craziest of football crowds in Europe.

The 20 Premiere League 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 the Second Division and the top three of the Second Division are elevated.

List national 1st Division by club name and city

Premiere League

AJ Auxerre | Auxerre 89000 Bourgogne | Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps (23,000)
FC Girondins de Bordeaux | Bordeaux 33000 Aquitaine | Stade Chaban Delmas (34,000)
Le Mans | Le Mans 72000 Pays-de-la-Loire | Stade Léon-Bollée (17,500)
RC Lens | Lens 62300 Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Stade Félix Bollaert (41,000)
Lille Olympic SC | Lille 59000 Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Stade Lille-Metropole (18,500)
FC Lorient | Lorient 56100 Bretagne | Stade du Moustoir (17,000)
Olympique Lyonnais | Lyon 69000 Rhône-Alpes | Stade de Gerland (43,000)
Olympique de Marseille | Marseille 13000 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Stade Vélodrome (60,000)
AS Monaco FC | Monaco Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Stade Louis II (18,500)
AS Nancy Lorraine | Nancy 54000 Lorraine | Stade Marcel Picot (20,000)
FC Nantes Atlantique |Nantes 44000 Pays-de-la-Loire | Stade de La Beaujoire (38,000)
OGC Nice | Nice 06000 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Stade Municipal du Ray (17,000)
Paris Saint-Germain | Paris 75000 Ile de France | Parc des Princes (48,000)
Stade Rennais FC | Rennes 35000 Bretagne | Stade de la Route de Lorient (31,000)
AS Saint-Étienne | Saint-Étienne 42000 Rhône-Alpes Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (47,000)
CS Sedan | Sedan 08200 Champagne-Ardenne | Stade Louis Dugauguez (23,000)
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard | Montbéliard 25200 Franche-Comté | Stade Auguste Bonal (20,000)
Toulouse FC | Toulouse 31000 Midi-Pyrénées | Stade de Toulouse (37,000)
Troyes AC | Troyes 10000 Lorraine | Stade de l'Aube (21,000)
Valenciennes FC | Valenciennes 59300 Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Stade Nungesser (11,000)

Second Division
A C Ajaccio | Ajaccio 20000 Corse | Stade François Coty (10,600)
Amiens SC | Amiens 80000 Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Stade de la Licorne (11,800)
SC Bastia | Bastia 20200 Corse | Stade Armand Cesari (12,000)
Stade Brestois | Brest 29200 Bretagne | Stade Francis-Le Blé (10,000)
SM Caen | Caen 14300 Normandie | Stade Michel d'Ornano (21,500)
Berrichonne Football | Châteauroux 36000 Centre | Stade Gaston Petit (17,000)
US Créteil-Lusitanos | Créteil 94000 Ile de France | Stade Dominique Duvauchelle (12,000)
Dijon FCO | Dijon 21000 Bourgogne Stade Gaston Gérard (8,000)
Grenoble Foot | Grenoble 38000 Rhône-Alpes Stade Lesdiguières (14,000)
FC Gueugnonnais | Gueugnon 71130 Bourgogne | Stade Jean Laville (13,000)
En Avant Guingamp Guingamp 22200 Bretagne | Stade Jean Laville
FC Istres | Istres 13800 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Stade Parsemain (17,000)
Havre AC | Le Havre 76610 Normandie | Stade Jules Deschaseaux (16,000)
FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin | Libourne 33500 Aquitaine | Stade Jean-Antoine Moueix (8,000)
FC Metz | Metz 57000 Lorraine | Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien (26,000)
Montpellier Herault SC | Montpellier 34000 Languedoc-Roussillon | Stade de la Mosson (32,000)
Chamois Niortais | Niort 79000 Poitou-Charente | Stade René Gaillard (10,800)
Stade de Reims | Reims 51100 Lorraine | Stade Auguste Delaune (10,000)
RC Strasbourg | Strasbourg 67000 Alsace | Stade de la Meinau (29,000)
Tours FC | Tours 37000 Pays-de-la-Loire | Stade de la Vallée du Cher (13,800)