Le Classique

Le Classique is the biggest rivalry in French football, the meeting of Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille. It sets the capital against the great southern port city, and the match carries a cultural weight that goes well beyond the result.

Paris Saint-Germain are the dominant force in the modern French game. Based in the capital and backed by major investment, they have assembled squads full of international stars and have become one of the most talked-about clubs in the world.

Marseille are France's most passionately supported club and a side with a proud history, including a celebrated run to the very top of European football. Their supporters are famous for their intensity, and the club stands for the identity of a city that sees itself as the true home of French football.

The rivalry is built on the contrast between Paris and Marseille, the political and financial capital against the rebellious port in the south. Marseille supporters resist the idea of being overshadowed by the capital, and that feeling gives the fixture its edge, especially as PSG have grown in power.

Le Classique is the match the French season is built around, the one occasion that reliably divides the country. It is wealth and star power against history and passion, and whichever way the result falls, it is felt strongly from Paris to the Mediterranean.