The French Rugby Federation has published how the 160 clubs of Fédérale 3 will be split for the 2026-27 season, in sixteen pools of ten. The largest league in French amateur rugby has once again been carved up by geographical area, to encourage derbies and limit travel.

A map in four big blocks

The split follows the geography of French rugby. Pools 1 to 4 cover the north, the east, Burgundy and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Pools 5 to 8 run down towards the Rhône valley, the south-east and Occitanie.

Unsurprisingly, the Grand Sud-Ouest takes the lion’s share with pools 9 to 13, before pools 14 to 16, which face the Atlantic coast, Brittany, the Pays de la Loire and the Paris region.

The largest amateur competition

One hundred and sixty teams, sixteen pools, hundreds of derbies: Fédérale 3 remains the bedrock of federal rugby, the last national rung before the regional leagues. This 2026-27 season also looks set to be the last in this format, ahead of the announced reform of the federal leagues.

The full composition of the sixteen pools is available on the FFR’s official website.