Current season, competition or edition: 2024–25 LNH Division 1 | |
 | |
| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 (as Nationale 1) |
| First season | 1952–53 |
| Administrator | LNH |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country | France |
| Confederation | EHF |
| Most recent champion(s) | PSG (11th title) (2023–24) |
| Most titles | Montpellier (14 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | beIN Sports |
| Relegation to | LNH Division 2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Trophée des Champions |
| International cup(s) | EHF Champions League EHF European League |
| Official website | LNH.fr |
LNH Division 1, doing business as Starligue and currently known as Liqui Moly Starligue for sponsorship reasons, is the premier men's professional handball league in France. It is administered by the Ligue Nationale de Handball, under delegation from the French Handball Federation. Founded in 1952, it is currently contested by 16 teams.
Montpellier Handball is the most successful club with 14 titles, and the club which won the most consecutive titles is Paris Saint-Germain with 9 between 2015 and 2023.
The champion and the vice-champion are directly qualified for the group phase of the EHF Champions League. The winners of the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue are qualified for the European League. If the winner of (one of) these cups is also the champion, the place(s) are attributed in terms of the Division 1 ranking.
Since 2016, the league has had a title sponsor. Discount retail chain Lidl was the first, paying €1 million per season for the rights (with the exception of the final season, a short term extension signed during the COVID-19 crisis).[1] It was succeeded in 2021 by lubricant manufacturer Liqui Moly.
- ^ Menjot, Pierre (10 July 2020). "Lidl Starligue : Lidl arrêtera le naming en 2021". lequipe.fr. Groupe Amaury. Retrieved 10 July 2021.