Paris (AFP)

Final whistle. French football followed the government injunctions on Thursday by effecting the final cessation of its Ligue 1 season. Sacred Paris, Lyon deprived of Europe, Toulouse relegated: now places the remedies of clubs claiming to be injured, such as OL which promises "multiple procedures".

It took the football world two days to resolve the inevitable, namely an early closure of the championship, unheard of since the Second World War.

But the Prime Minister's announcements Tuesday that "the 2019-2020 professional sports season will not be able to resume" because of health risks linked to the coronavirus were "unambiguous" according to the president of the Professional Football League (LFP) ) Nathalie Boy de la Tour.

Meeting in the office in the morning and then in the board of directors in the afternoon, the LFP confirmed that it had made "a firm and final decision", putting an end to the last concerns of some and the ultimate hopes of others.

"The Lépine des propositions competition is over," said a member of the Board of Directors.

In recent days, many proposals had flared, including the side of President Jean-Michel Aulas, supporter of play-offs to play in August who could have offered his OL, 7th in the standings when the championship was suspended in mid-March , a European place that escapes it as it stands.

- The quotient rule -

But the mode of calculation of the classification retained by the League, and revealed by its executive director general Didier Quillot, is that which was recommended for the amateur championships by Noël Le Graët, the president of the French Federation (FFF): an "index "based on a quotient" number of points per match played ".

PSG thus won its 9th champion title, equaling Marseille, one length from the AS Saint-Etienne record (10 crowns). Accompanying Paris in the Champions League, OM, a good runner, will find its part in the group stage of C1, a qualification unseen since 2013 which will do good to its finances. While Rennes, 3rd and qualified at least for the preliminary rounds of the European queen event, will have the opportunity to compete for the first time in its history.

For its part, Lille (4th), which hoped until the end to find a way to double the Bretons in the ranking via a different calculation method, will be content with the Europa League.

Nice and Reims, which occupy the 5th and 6th places, are also on pole for the C3, in the case of figure where there would be no possibility of disputing the finals of national cups. But "the objective" is to organize them in early August, before the start of the 2020-21 season set "at the latest" on August 22 and 23, according to the LFP.

- "Multiple procedures" -

Finally, Amiens and Toulouse will be relegated and Lorient and Lens promoted from L2, the hypothesis of an L1 / L2 barrage having been ruled out, which suggests a wave of disputes before the sports and administrative justice, the regulations not covering the 'hypothesis of a truncated season.

The clubs considering themselves injured could thus contest the final classification, as some dissatisfied amateur teams have already promised to do so for the lower divisions.

"It is a very important loss of chance," stormed Jean-Michel Aulas, ensuring that Lyon is considering "multiple procedures". "We will claim damages, which amount to several tens of millions of euros," he said during a conference call with AFP and the regional newspaper Le Progrès.

For its part, Toulouse FC, red lantern, "reserves the right" to file an appeal for lack of having been able to defend its chances of maintenance to the end, said AFP its president Olivier Sadran.

"Perhaps there will be appeals, but in any case the decisions taken today by the Board of Directors are solid," replied Didier Quillot, for whom only the promotion and relegation format between L2 and the National (3rd division) will be the subject of another decision at the General Assembly on May 20.

This final shutdown of the L1, the first of one of the five major European championships, is now putting pressure on its continental football neighbors, while UEFA is pushing for the completion of national competitions this summer in order to also finish its Champions League, maybe in August.

The final classification retained (ratio of points per match played):

1. Paris SG (2.52 points per match)

2. Marseille (2.00)

3. Reindeer (1.79)

4. Lille (1.75)

5. Nice (1.46)

6. Reims (1.46)

7. Lyon (1.43)

8. Montpellier (1.43)

9. Monaco (1.43)

10. Strasbourg (1.41)

11. Angers (1.39)

12. Bordeaux (1.32)

13. Nantes (1.32)

14. Brest (1.21)

15. Metz (1.21)

16. Dijon (1.07)

17. Saint-Etienne (1.07)

18. Nimes (0.96)

19. Amiens (0.82)

20. Toulouse (0.46)

© 2020 AFP