Beyond the Chicken Coop II - Paris F.C.
Stade Charléty is hardly ideal for a growing club like Paris F.C. (Photo: Luisia Conrad)
In Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (2021), the “chicken coop”, in reality a prison cell, comes to symbolise the isolation and foreignness of being an émigré in Paris. Inspired by the expatriate journalists at the centre of the film, Luca Howes’s aims to overcome this loneliness, bringing warmth and familiarity to his descriptions of the city where he is spending his year abroad.
Manchester United vs Manchester City, Inter vs A.C. Milan, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) vs… who? Such is the puzzle of France’s capital. Unlike other European football metropolises, there is no local derby, just the PSG hegemony and a slew of smaller clubs duking it out in lower leagues. However, one club based in the 13th Arrondissement, Paris F.C., is climbing the French footballing pyramid to hopefully ignite an intra-city rivalry.
Why does Paris F.C. remain the smaller team, despite existing since the 1960s? Post-WW2 football was assured municipal funding. However, subsidies were limited to one club per municipality, leading to multiple mergers. Paris F.C. was founded in 1969 but merged with Stade Saint-Germain in 1970 to form PSG. In 1972, Paris F.C. left the agreement, keeping professional status while PSG was relegated to the amateur divisions. Subsequently, Paris F.C. has declined while PSG has thrived and, since Qatari investment in 2011, become France’s principal club. Since the 1978-79 season, its last in the top flight, Paris F.C. has bounced around the lower leagues, regaining professional status in 2015 and reaching Ligue 2 in 2017, where it has remained since.
Meanwhile, the Paris F.C. Féminines (women’s side) has surged in recent years. Since a merger with Jusivy – 15 km south of Paris – it has become one of France’s biggest teams, usually finishing behind Lyon and PSG in Ligue 1 Féminine. In 2005, it won the Coupe de France and, in 2012-13, reached the Champions League semi-finals. The men’s team is not yet at this level.
Billionaire backers
In July 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain bought a 20% stake in the club, angering fans due to the country’s human rights record. The Council of Paris accused Bahrain of “sportswashing” – using sport to overshadow wrongdoings. Protests from NGOs brought the matter to the Mairie (Town Hall) of Paris and the club’s €500,000 stipend from the city was reconsidered.
These issues are now resolved: in October 2024, the Arnault family, led by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, purchased a controlling stake in the club, while Red Bull took an 11% share. Antoine Arnault, Bernard’s son, says he wants to see Paris competing in Europe within the next ten years.
The Red Bull takeover offers glimmers of hope; former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp alongside retired world-class striker Mario Gómez make for formidable asdvisory. Nevertheless, Arnault has stressed that control resides with the family, not the drinks company. It’s therefore unlikely we’ll see an RB Paris in the same vein as RB Leipzig or RB Salzburg.
Stadium sorrows
Any hindrances to expansion have more to do with facilities than funding. Stade Charléty is hardly ideal for a growing club, with only two entrances and an athletics track ringing the pitch. One proposal was to share the Stade Jean-Bouin, home of Stade Français Paris Rugby and neighbours with PSG’s Parc des Princes. However, this looks unlikely to happen.
Yet Stade Charléty suits a community-minded club in Ligue 2. The 13th Arrondissement is largely residential and the stadium is a public facility hosting local organisations like Paris Université Club. As Paris owns its sporting facilities, they are far more numerous and accessible than in the UK. This allows youth sports to flourish, feeding into the club’s academy.
Paris F.C.’s community endeavours don’t stop there. Since last season, attending home matches has been free, prompting an uptake in supporters. Stade Charléty now typically welcomes 10,000-15,000 spectators. When I saw Paris play Annecy in November, my block was full of young people and school kids, many of whom came with local teams.
Goal gaps
After watching the club, it seems its main hurdle in the quest for promotion is the quality of the squad. In the 0-0 draw with Annecy, Paris lacked an attacking threat. Its main striker Jean-Philippe Krasso was marked out of the game and the team didn’t get many looks on goal. Paris currently sits second in Ligue 2, after losing 2-0 to Lorient.
Only the top two teams are promoted so Paris needs more goals to be secure. Currently, Paris ranks sixth for goals with 24, while promotion rivals Lorient and Dunkerque, first and third respectively, have 30 and 26. With January’s transfer window around the corner, hopefully Paris can do good business and reverse its poor performance: one win, one loss and three draws in the last five games.
In its quest to create a second big team in France’s capital, Paris F.C. has all the ingredients necessary: a billionaire takeover, a solid youth academy and shrewd Red Bull stakeholders. Will they reach European football in ten years? You can’t be sure with this sport. But the club’s foundation as a community cornerstone should serve as a base for expansion in coming years.