Ligue 1 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 —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. Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September under the name National before switching to Division 1 after a year of existence. It continued to operate under that name until , 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 and 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 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 —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 to April The current champions are Paris Saint-Germain, who won a record twelfth title in the —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.
