Changes in the lineup from 2016–17 were: The regular season uses a double round-robin format, in which each team plays the others home and away.

It trialled a new system in 2007–08 explicitly designed to prevent a losing team from earning more than one bonus point in a match,[1] a system that also made it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match.

As noted above, both promotion places will be determined by play-offs from 2017 to 2018 forward, with the winner of the Pro D2 play-offs earning promotion and the runner-up playing the second-from-bottom Top 14 team for the next season's final Top 14 place.

At the same time, LNR and the French Rugby Federation (FFR) will change the promotion process from Fédérale 1 to Pro D2.

The second promotion place will be a "wild card" granted by LNR to a club that meets the following criteria:[4] Starting with the 2020–21 season, LNR will create a third professional league, slotting between Pro D2 and Fédérale 1 in the league system.