Open to all amateur and professional football clubs in France, the Coupe de France is the nation's most prestigious cup competition.
Boasting a long 109-year history, the Coupe de France was founded in 1917 and features over than 8,500 competing clubs across it's eight rounds of play, offering a UEFA Europa League place for the champion.
Similarly to Ligue 1, the competition has been dominated by Paris Saint Germain in more recent years and the Parisians hold the most Coupe de France title wins with 16.
RC Lens are the current champions of the Coupe de France after Les Sang et Or secured their first even win in the competition with a 3-1 win over Nice.
Dates
The dates for the 2026/27 Coupe de France are yet to be confirmed, however the dates are likely to be similar to the 2025/26 edition; beginning in early September 2026 and concluding in May 2027.
Format
Coupe de France is a knockout tournament with pairings for each round drawn at random. Each tie across the course of the competition is played through a single leg, with a game going straight to penalties if the score is level at full time.
There can be up to 14 total rounds in the competitions, with the earlier rounds separated by regions in France to reduce travel costs for amateur sides.
The regions conduct rounds of matches up until the seventh round, where professional clubs enter. All of the clubs are then split and drawn against each other randomly, regardless of regional differences.
The winner of the competition qualifies for the Europa League. If the winner has already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via the league, the Europa League spot goes to the next highest placed finisher in Ligue 1.
Prize money
Not only do the Coupe de France winners earn a spot in the Europa League for the following season, but they reportedly take home in excess of €1,200,000.
The runners-up are said to earn an estimated €830,000.
History
The inaugural edition of the competition was held in 1917/18, won by Olympique de Pantin, who defeated FC Lyon 3-0 in the final.
Unsurprisingly, PSG lead the way with the most Coupe de France titles, taking their tally up to a record 16 when defeating Reims 3-0 in the 2024/25 final.
While Marseille have won the second most honours with 10, they've also fell at the final hurdle on the most occasions, losing nine finals.
