Attendances: A historic season for French football
At the conclusion of the 2025/2026 season, French professional football reached an unprecedented level, recording a cumulative total of 10.87 million spectators across Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT—a historic record since the transition to an 18-club format in both leagues.
Across Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT, average attendance has reached a record high of 18,059 spectators per match.
This performance is driven by Ligue 1 McDonald’s—which has achieved a record stadium occupancy rate—and a rapidly growing Ligue 2 BKT, confirming the massive public enthusiasm for the sport within stadiums and across the regions.
A Record Occupancy Rate!
The 2025/2026 Ligue 1 McDonald’s season confirms an unprecedented level of enthusiasm, boasting an average of 27,588 spectators per match and a record stadium occupancy rate of 87.4%—an increase compared to the previous season (+0.7 percentage points year-on-year). This level of attendance serves as a testament to the league’s ever-growing appeal within its stadiums.
Despite facing slight constraints due to reduced commercial capacity compared to the previous season, Ligue 1 McDonald’s has posted the second-best performance in its history as an 18-club league, recording a total of 8.39 million spectators.
This momentum is concretely reflected in the following figures:
8 clubs with an occupancy rate exceeding 90% (Paris Saint-Germain, RC Lens, RC Strasbourg, Stade Rennais FC, Stade Brestois, Olympique de Marseille, FC Lorient, AJ Auxerre);
5 clubs averaging over 35,000 spectators (Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, Paris Saint-Germain, LOSC Lille, RC Lens);
118 sold-out matches, representing nearly 40% of all fixtures.
Several clubs made significant contributions to this growth:
RC Strasbourg Alsace (+46%), boosted by the completion of renovation work at La Meinau
Paris FC (+26%) and FC Lorient (+25%), benefiting from their promotion to Ligue 1 McDonald’s.
A Record for OM
Finally, the season was marked by a peak in attendance during the match between Olympique de Marseille and Stade Brestois (Matchday 12), with 66,279 spectators—illustrating once again the capacity of Ligue 1 McDonald’s to massively mobilize its audiences.
