Against the advice of these regional divisions, the French Football Federation introduced the D4 in 1978.
However, the Championnat National 2 became the new fourth tier in the French football league system.
[1] The Division 4 followed the same system of being an "open" league as the Division 3, mixing together amateur clubs and reserve sides of professional clubs.
At the end of the season, the best team from each respective group was promoted to the Division 3.
The champion of each regional Division d'Honneur was promoted to the D4, while the bottom three of each group in the D4 were relegated.