Carcassonne
Avignon
Albi
Villeneuve
Toulouse Elite
St Gaudens
Palau
Castleford
Barrow
Haydock
Bradford
Wikipedia - Elite 1 (rugby league)
Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worldwide. The clubs play each other home and away then they enter into a play-off series culminating with a Grand Final. The competition is the continuation and first division of the French Rugby League Championship, which has been in existence since 1934.
The league is generally regarded as the third most important domestic championship in the world, behind Australia's National Rugby League and the United Kingdom's Super League, and ahead of the NZRL National Competition, PNGNRL, Balkan Super League and Rhino Cup.
History
The French Rugby League Championship began in 1934, the first one being the only one where it was won by the team finishing top of the table on points and not by a play-off series.
The Elite One Championship was founded in 2002 after the French Rugby League Championship was split into two divisions. The format stayed the same with teams playing each other home and away, before a play-off series would determine the Champions. The club finishing bottom would not be automatically relegated, it would be dependent on whether the club finishing top of Elite Two Championship either wanted to be promoted or their facilities were up to standard.
**Franţa - Le Championnat Elite** este un turneu de top al rugby-ului din Franţa. Este disputat de 12 echipe, care se întâlnesc în fiecare sezon pentru a stabili campioana Franţei.
**Format:**
Turneul se dispută într-un format cu două faze: o fază regulată și o fază eliminatorie.
* **Faza regulată:** Fiecare echipă joacă câte 22 de meciuri, disputate în sistem tur-retur. Primele șase echipe se califică pentru faza eliminatorie.
* **Faza eliminatorie:** Cele mai bune două echipe intră direct în semifinale. Celelalte patru echipe calificate joacă în sferturi de finală. Învingătoarele sferturilor de finală avansează în semifinale, alături de cele două echipe calificate direct. Semifinalele și finala se dispută într-un singur meci.
**Campioana en titre:**
Campioana en titre a sezonului 2023 este **Saint-Estève XIII Catalan**.
**Echipe participante:**
* Albi RL
* Carcassonne XIII
* Lézignan-Corbières RL
* Limoux Grizzlies
* Palau Broncos XIII
* Pia XIII
* Saint-Estève XIII Catalan
* Saint-Gaudens XIII
* Salon XIII
* Toulouse Olympique
* Villefranche XIII Aveyron
* Villeneuve-sur-Lot