Paris FC secures maintenance in Ligue 1

Clément Pédrone, Media365: published Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 10:33 PM

Thanks to its success this Sunday afternoon in Metz (1-3), Paris FC has officially secured its maintenance, after being promoted at the start of this season. A successful season for everyone, including the new owners.

Successful return for Paris FC. Sunday afternoon, the other club from the capital alongside Paris Saint-Germain clinched its ninth victory of the season with four matches remaining. In addition to the three points earned on FC Metz’s pitch thanks to goals from Gory, Otavio, and Kebbal (1-3), PFC mainly confirmed its maintenance in Ligue 1 for next season. A happy moment for the club that was playing at a lower level last year.

In the press conference, Antoine Kombouaré, the PFC coach who arrived on February 22nd to replace Stéphane Gilli, praised the performance of his players. “Maintaining was the club’s objective, but it wasn’t mine,” recalled the Kanak. “I say this because I had much higher ambitions. I say this with a lot of humility, but when I arrived, we were still in 15th place, 6 points ahead of the relegation team. In my mind, I wanted to do much better than the position we were in. I knew there were good players, a good group. Now, we just had to get it right and do good work. It’s true that I am a fulfilled coach today.”

A new dimension

After failing four times in a row in the Ligue 1 promotion playoffs in recent seasons, Paris FC changed its dimension in November 2024 with its acquisition by the holding owned by Bernard Arnault. Major renovations began, starting with a move to the Jean-Bouin stadium, home of Stade Français (rugby), and leaving Charléty behind. After confirming its promotion to the elite, PFC did not go overboard in the off-season, making only a few adjustments to the squad with Stéphane Gilli still on the sidelines. The coach of the promotion stayed until two months ago but could not resist his team’s mid-season slump.

Engaged in a maintenance mission, his replacement Antoine Kombouaré has more than succeeded, as his team has won three of the last four league matches and has not lost since February 14th. With four games remaining (Lille, Brest, Rennes, and PSG), Paris FC (10th) has the luxury of enjoying the end of the season and perhaps climbing one or two places in the standings.