Paris (AFP)

A massive blow for Toulouse and Amiens, divine surprise for Lorient and Lens: the climbs in L1 and the descents in L2 were activated on Thursday by French football without the thrills of the final sprint, at the end of a season shortened by the coronavirus.

No Bollaert stadium in fusion or song of the "Corons" to celebrate this, but a certainty, the Racing Club of Lens will find Ligue 1 for the first time in five years. As for Lorient, in search of elite for three seasons, it is downright a title of champion of second division which it will be necessary to celebrate from his sofa, confinement obliges.

Meeting Thursday in Board of Directors, the Professional Football League (LFP) has indeed decided "to adopt the principle of two climbs and two descents between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2", according to its press release, while awarding the Merlus title, first in L2 with 54 points, one more than the Lensois after 28 days contested until the suspension of the championship in mid-March.

These people will not regret for a long time not having experienced the goosebumps of a climb obtained on the lawn. The feeling is opposite among the relegated Ligue 1, who, them, could not fight to the end for their survival.

In Toulouse, a red lantern which however counted the trifle of 14 points behind the 18th with only 10 days to escape, we grimace.

Toulouse FC "reserves the right" to file a legal appeal, its president Olivier Sadran has already announced to AFP. "We do not know if we will do it, it is still too early to say, but we reserve the right to do it", he added, the LFP hammering on it that its decisions are "final" and "solid". For the moment, the Violets must resign themselves to Ligue 2, for the first time since the 2002-2003 season.

- Nîmes relieved, Ajaccio disappointed -

As for Amiens, 19th, it is for four small points that relegation is played out, even as the Picards were preparing for the resumption and had all carried out PCR and serological tests in recent days to resume training while minimizing the risks Covid-19 infection.

The Amiens will inform "as soon as possible" their fans and partners "of the procedures under way," the club said on Twitter.

The decision of French football, which follows government orders that made it impossible to hold any match by August, will be greeted more discreetly by Nîmes, the current 18th and barragist in the Ligue 1 ranking.

The authorities have ruled out any possibility of playing play-offs, which usually end the season.

Which will not fail to disappoint AC Ajaccio, Troyes and Clermont, the candidates for the "play-offs" of Ligue 2, prior to the play-offs. Only three points separated Lens, 2nd, from Clermont, 5th, at the time of the interruption.

According to several media, they were determined until the end to try to compete in play-offs and play-offs in August, a proposal to organize them in a vacuum in the Lyon region, little affected by the virus, having even been formulated .

© 2020 AFP