Skip to main content
NEU job vacancy
Jeu à treize: the oppression of French rugby league
Banned by the FFR and then by Vichy government because of its popularity with the Popular Front, JAMES NALTON highlights the plight of a real working class sport
Catalans Dragons’ Paul Seguier (centre) celebrates with team-mates after scoring their side’s fourth try during the Super League match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds, March 25, 2023

THE HISTORY of rugby league in France is one of oppression and obfuscation. An entertaining, working-class sport pushed into the shadows by authority and, for a number of years, even banned altogether.

The effects of this ban and the intentional bundling of the sport into obscurity are still felt today.

As the Rugby [union] World Cup ploughs on in France, the host country’s premier rugby league team, Catalans Dragons, were last night involved in a final-day fight for Super League’s 2023 League Leaders’ Shield. The most prestigious league title in European rugby league.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (centre), holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers  June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City
Sport / 23 June 2025
23 June 2025
Luke Humphries celebrates victory against Luke Littler in the final on night fourteen of the Premier League at Leeds Arena, Leeds, May 8, 2025
Round-up / 9 May 2025
9 May 2025
Warrington Wolves' Zane Musgrove (right) tackled by Huddersf
Sport / 28 February 2025
28 February 2025
This weekend’s Super League matches across the pond could be a boon for the sport, writes JAMES NALTON
Los Angeles Galaxy's Marco Reus (left) celebrates with teamm
Men’s football / 6 December 2024
6 December 2024
JAMES NALTON previews the much-anticipated East Coast versus West Coast battle this weekend, the result of supporters holding their team to account