The 1951–52 French Rugby Union Championship was contested by 64 teams divided in 8 pools.

In 1952, France, was threatened with exclusion from the Five Nation Championship responsible by the British of "professionalism".

[1] To avoid this sanction, the French Federation promised to abolish the championship and created a list of players accused of professionalism including Jean Dauger, Robert Soro and Maurice Siman.

[2][clarification needed] FFR in any case decided to reduce the number of matches played during the season, cancelling the Coupe de France.

For the first (and last) time, the club excluded from the qualification round, played a consolation tournament called Coupe Cyril-Rutherford in memory of a French rugby pioneer.