Ligue 1 winners: French football's most successful clubs

Paris Saint-Germain beat Angers 1-0 at the Parc des Princes last Saturday to clinch the Ligue 1 title with six rounds to spare.

Désiré Doué’s goal 10 minutes into the second half sealed victory for Luis Enrique’s side and wrapped up a fourth title in a row for the Parisians.

PSG have now won 11 Ligue 1 titles since the club was taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, but the Rouge-et-Bleu have not always been the dominant force in French football.

Here, a look at the most successful clubs in Ligue 1…

Lens, Club Français, CA Paris, US Tourcoing, Rouen, Strasbourg, Gallia Club Paris, Saint-Raphaël, Stade Français, Auxerre, Montpellier (one title)

Montpellier players celebrate with the Ligue 1 trophy after their title win in May 2012. (Image credit: Getty Images)

In total, 11 clubs have won the French championship only once, including current Ligue 1 teams Strasbourg (1978/79), Auxerre (1995/96), Lens (1997/98) and Montpellier (2011/12).

The other winners are Club Français (1895/96), Gallia Club Paris (1904/05), US Tourcoing (1909/10), Saint-Raphaël (1911/12), CA Paris (1926/27), Stade Français (1927/28) and Rouen (1944/45).

Sète (two titles)

Sete in action against Marseille in the Coupe de France in May 1934. (Image credit: Getty Images)

FC Sète 34, founded as Olympique de Cette in 1901, is a club from the seaside commune of Sète (previously Cette or Sette) in southern France.

The club ceased activities due to World War I, restarting as FC de Cette. Renamed as FC Sète when the town changed its name in 1928, the club won two Ligue 1 titles and two Coupes de France in the 1930s.

Sochaux (two titles)

FIFA president Jules Rimet presents the Coupe de France trophy to Sochaux in 1937. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Founded in 1928 with investment from car company Peugeot, Sochaux were French champions twice in the 1930s and also won the Coupe de France in 1937.

Cup winners again in 2007, Sochaux have been runners-up in the league on three occasions. The club currently play in France’s third tier following administrative relegation from Ligue 2 in 2023.

Racing Club de France (two titles)

Racing Club de France in action against First Vienna, circa 1932. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Formed in 1882, Racing Club de France won a French title in 1906/07 and another as a founding member of Ligue 1 in 1935/36.

Known as Racing Club Paris for periods of its history, the club currently plays in the suburb of Colombes in the French capital and competes in the nation’s fifth tier. RC have finished as runners-up in the French championship six times, with four of those coming in the early 1900s.

Le Havre (three titles)

Le Havre’s Timothee Pembele (right) celebrates a goal against Nantes in March 2025. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Le Havre have enjoyed success in France’s top flight, but the club’s three titles were won a very long time ago.

Champions in 1898–99, 1899–1900 and 1918–19, Le Havre were also runners-up in 1900/01. Coupe de France winners in 1959, the club returned to Ligue 1 in 2023.

Stade Helvétique (three titles)

Football fans watch a match in Marseille in 1934. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Originally known as La Suisse and later renamed as Stade Helvétique de Marseille, the now-defunct club won three French titles between 1909 and 1913.

Also runners-up in 1909/10, Stade Helvétique was dissolved in 1932 following years of financial problems exacerbated by the Wall Street Crash.

Nice (four titles)

Nice players celebrate victory over Marseille in the 1954 Coupe de France final. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Nice are four-time French champions, with all of those title win secured in the 1950s.

Coupe de France winners in 1952 and 1954, Nice claimed the trophy again in 1996/97. The Eaglets have finished as runners-up in the league three times – in 1967/68, 1972/73 and 1975/76.

Standard Athletic Club (five titles)

French football fans on bikes attend a match in Paris in the championship’s early years. (Image credit: Getty Images)

A British social club in Paris, Standard Athletic Club became France’s fourth football club and won the inaugural French title in 1894.

Champions four more times over the next seven years, the Standard Athletic Club also provided most of the players for the France cricket team at the 1900 Olympic Games. The club still exists today.

RC Roubaix (six titles)

RC Roubaix in action against Lille at the Parc des Princes in 1956. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Founded in 1895, Racing Club de Roubaix won five French titles between 1902 and 1908, as well as finishing as runners-up twice in that time.

Two-time Coupe de France finalists in the early 1930s, the club won another French title as CO Roubaix-Tourcoing in 1946/47, after merging with Excelsior AC Roubaix and US Tourcoing. Following a couple more mergers to form Stade Club Olympique de Roubaix, the club disappeared altogether in 1995.

Stade de Reims (six titles)

Stade de Reims players line up ahead of a match in November 1959. (Image credit: Getty Images)

A major force in French football in the 1950s and 1960s, Stade de Reims won six titles between 1949 and 1962, as well as finishing as runners-up three times.

European Cup finalists in 1956 and 1959, Reims lost to Real Madrid on both occasions. Now back in Ligue 1 after a long absence, the Rouge et Blancs are without a major trophy since the 1960s.

Lille (six titles)

Lille players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Ligue 1 title in May 2011. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Over 100 years separate Lille’s first French title and the club’s most recent Ligue 1 triumph.

Champions for the first time in 1913/14, Lille are six-time winners overall, with their last title coming in 2020/21. LOSC have also finished second on nine occasions.

Bordeaux (six titles)

Bordeaux players celebrate winning the Ligue 1 title in May 2009. (Image credit: Getty Images)

French champions for the first time in 1949-50, Bordeaux went on to win three more titles in the 1980s and have six in total.

Les Girondins last won Ligue 1 in 2008/09, a decade after their previous title. Bordeaux have also been runners-up on nine occasions. After an administrative double relegation in 2014, Bordeaux currently compete in France’s fourth tier.

Lyon (seven titles)

Lyon players celebrate winning the Ligue 1 title in May 2008. (Image credit: Getty Images)

All seven of Lyon’s Ligue 1 titles were won in an incredible run between 2001/02 and 2007/08.

Founded in 1950, Olympique Lyonnais have finished as runners-up on five occasions, most recently in the 2015/16 season. OL are also five-time Coupe de France winners.

Nantes (eight titles)

Nantes players line up for a Champions League game against Bayern Munich in December 2001. (Image credit: Getty Images)

A major force in French football in the 1960s and 1970s, Nantes have won eight titles in total, with the last of those coming in 2000/01.

Nantes have also finished as runners-up on seven occasions, but recent years have been more difficult and the club spent five seasons in Ligue 2 between 2007 and 2013.

Monaco (eight titles)

Monaco players celebrate their Ligue 1 title win in May 2017. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Monaco are eight-time French champions and the Rouge et Blanc have also finished as runners-up on eight occasions.

The club’s first title was won in 1960/61, with the last clinched in 2016/17. Monaco also reached the Champions League final in 2004, losing to Porto.

Saint-Étienne (10 titles)

Saint-Etienne players line up ahead of the 1976 European Cup final against Bayern Munich. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Hugely successful in the 1960s and 1970s, Saint-Étienne won the French title for the first time in 1956/57.

French champions eight more times between 1964 and 1976, the Greens won their last title in 1980/81. European Cup finalists in 1976, Saint-Étienne have finished as runners-up in Ligue 1 on three occasions.

Olympique Marseille (10 titles)

Olympique Marseille players celebrate after winning the Ligue 1 title in May 2010. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Before Paris Saint-Germain’s run of titles over the past decade, Olympique Marseile were French football’s most successful club.

Marseille are 10-time French champions, having clinched their first league title in 1928/29 and their last in 2009/10. Runners-up on 14 occasions, OM are also the only French club to have won the Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain (13 titles)

Paris Saint-Germain players celebrate their Ligue 1 title win in May 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Paris Saint-Germain are France’s most successful side in Ligue 1 with 13 titles overall, but 11 of those have been won since the club was taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.

Founded in 1970, PSG’s first two titles arrived in 1985/86 and 1993/94. The Parisians won Ligue 1 again in 2012/13 and have taken the title a further 10 times since. The Rouge-et-Bleu have also been runners-up nine times.

Ligue 1 winners: French football’s most successful clubs

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