The history of the Ligue de Football Professionnel dates back before World War II when the committee's primary motive was to ensure clubs in France pay players their wages.

During the Vichy regime, professionalism in France was abolished, which led to clubs forming unpopular regional amateur leagues.

Following the conclusion of the war, many clubs were hesitant to follow the initiatives of the French Football Federation due to their belief that the federation were not thinking in their best interests and, instead, opted to join an initiative by Gambardella referred the Groupement des clubs autorisés.

The LFP also oversee the professional clubs that suffer relegation to third-tier Championnat National.

In any given season a club plays each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, though special circumstances may allow a club to host matches at other venues such as when Lille hosted Lyon at the Stade de France in 2007 and 2008.

If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.

The competition was considered second-rate compared to the Coupe de France and attracted much criticism from many who deem the cup as having less prestige and creating fixture congestion.

[6] The DNCG is the organisation responsible for monitoring the accounts of professional association football clubs in France.