The Coupe De France puts Montreuil and Bayeux into the French footballing limelight
Screamers, tears and a record-beating red card as two sixth-tier sides head into the last 32 of the world's maddest cup competition.
Anyone who has watched French football for a while will tell you the same thing - the Coupe De France is the best cup competition in football.
Yes, better than the FA Cup, better than the FIFA World Club Cup and even better than the gone but not forgotten Anglo Italian Cup (which is worth a post of its own).
Also, given FIFA’s recent antics, it far outshines the World Cup - where bigger teams are given an upper hand and the price of a ticket to the fina; is more than the weekly running costs of the average club side.
The Coupe De France is, quite simply, the maddest, most entertaining and most likely to throw up a shock cup there is.
The sheer breadth of the competition is what gives it such an unpredictable glory - open to all amateur and professional clubs, there are 14 rounds and up until the halfway point, those rounds are organised regionally, rather than by any adherence to the football pyramid. So smaller teams get further - if anything they have the advantage over the bigger teams by the time the competition is getting towards the business end.
The competition also includes teams from the overseas departments and territories - such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Reunion.
No replays (straight to penalties); shirt numbers from 1 to 11 (none of this squad number nonsense); and venues that range from synthetic pitch sports grounds to the Parc Du Prince right up until the latter stages.
In the most recent round, minnows Montreuil managed to beat US Chauvigny, from the division above, 2-1 thanks to this absolute zinger from Anthony Adel, on a plastic pitch covered in blue lines as well as white ones. It earned them a place in the last 32.
The match was also remarkable for something else - the quickest red card in the history of the competition, after Chauvigny’s Logan Assignon was sent off after just 17 seconds. Impressive.
Montreuil, who play in the Regional 1 league - the sixth tier of the French football pyramid - have been on my radar for a while now. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in Montreuil over the years - my cousin lives there - and the gritty but charming neighbourhood is definitely on the up, an interesting but still pleasingly rough around the edges counterpoint to the preened and polished neighbouring district of Vincennes. Both give you access to the huge Bois Du Vincennes, the horse racing track that sits in one corners and the huge chateaux that dominates the other. Both have thriving market days and great Metro links into central Paris.
But Montreuil seems to be having a bit of a moment. Interesting things are happening in art, culture, food and drink - the fantastic Isole is in the Michelin guide and if you’re anywhere near it ever, you should go.
The football club caught more attention earlier this year though when they announced a formal link up with Ligue 2 side Red Star.
The partnership opens up a pathway for players from the area into Red Star’s newly developed training centre. Red Star’s long term vision os to develop first team talent directly from the 93 (Seine-Saint-Denis) - but other parts of Paris are crucial to this too. Montreuil and Saint Ouen, where Red Star are based, are not too dissimilar at all. A strong North African immigrant community living cheek by jowel with creeping gentrification.
Both clubs are supported by Trust’IT, an IT firm with a social conscience , founded by Montreuil local Ali Sidhoum.
In the near term though, Montreuil have a last-16 tie against Ligue 2 Amiens on January 10. Other tasty, banana skin-laden ties in the next round include:
Le Puy Foot 43 Auvergne (National League) v Reims (Ligue 2)
Hauts Lyonnais (National 3) v Lorient (Ligue 1)
US Chantilly (National 3) v Renne (Ligue 1)
Bayeux (Regional 1) v Olympique Marseille (Ligue 1)
That last fixture in particular could be an absolute blast.
Like Montreuil, Bayeux play in the Regional 1 and so the pair represent the lowest ranked teams left in the competition. OM have a natural propensity for the chaotic and if any big French side are set to blow up in their own faces, it’s more than likely them.
The game will be played at the 20,000-capacity Stade Michel-d'Ornano, home of Stade Malherbe Caen rather than their own 3500-capacity stadium in the Calvados region, such will be the demand from fans of the amateur side and the rest of the local community.
L’Equipe reported that Bayeux fans were in tears as they gathered to watch the draw and witness what could be the biggest fixture in their history. “It’s just exceptional because Olympique de Marseille...everyone dreams of playing them,” said club president president, Luis Ferreira-Pavesi. “It’s a fantastic Christmas present for everyone, we’re overjoyed.”
The 2-1 win over Blois 41 followed victories in the earlier rounds against Kylian Mbappe-owned Caen and Yvetot - all in higher divisions.
Just check this footage out. You absolutely love to see it.
Absolute scenes.
This isn’t a remarkable occurrence though. The Coupe De France delivers this sort of drama year in and year out. It’s exactly what a cup competition should be.
If one of those ties generates an upset, it can only cement the fact the Coupe De France as the one to beat - no extra time, no penalties.
As we enter 2026, the Coupe De France is the one to watch if you want a cup competition to restore your faith in football. See you in Montreuil.
You can buy my new book - Red Star Paris: More Than Just A Football Club - here.
New here/to the party. Excellent piece. I am a fan of Marseille though I also love how many players Paris, as a city, produces. Also, weren't Montreuil featured on an HBO docuseries about their youth team? Greetings from NJ, USA.
Agree big time! I watched Toulouse lose to Moulins during my year abroad, proper scenes. And big comparisons, socially, to be done between Montreuil and Saint-Ouen, ‘bobo-fication’ of both banlieue towns is in full swing