The official fixtures for the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season have now been released by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The schedule confirms that two clubs from Paris will face each other in the top flight for the first time since Racing Club de Paris was relegated in 1989.
With Paris FC returning to Ligue 1 for the first time in 46 years, the much-anticipated Paris derby is back. PSG will meet their close neighbours at the Parc des Princes on January 4th to kick off the new year. However, the most exciting encounter promises to be the return game, scheduled for the final matchday of the Ligue 1 season on May 16th, 2026, at the Stade Jean-Bouin, located just a short distance away from the Parc des Princes.
Historically, the two clubs share deep connections. Paris Football Club was established in 1969 with the ambition of becoming the dominant club in the capital city. It quickly merged with Stade Saint-Germain, a second-division side situated about 15km west of Paris in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the birthplace of King Louis XIV, to gain entry into the French football pyramid. This new combined entity was named Paris Saint-Germain.
This partnership dissolved in 1972. The city authorities were reportedly dissatisfied with the capital`s primary club playing its matches outside the city limits. Paris Football Club continued in Division 1 and moved into the Parc des Princes stadium, while Paris Saint-Germain was administratively dropped down to the third tier.
In an ironic twist of fate, PSG earned promotion back to the first division in 1974, the same season that Paris FC was relegated. PSG then took over residency at the Parc des Princes and has since firmly established itself as the leading football force in the French capital.
