| 2023–24 Nationale | |
| Countries: |  France |
| Date: | 25 August 2023 – 18 May 2024 |
| Champions: | Nice (1st title) |
| Runnersup: | Narbonne |
| Promoted: | Nice |
| Relegated: | Blagnac, Vienne |
| Website: | www.ffr.fr |
| Prevseason: | 2022–23 |
| Nextseason: | 2024–25 |
The 2023–24 Championnat Fédéral Nationale was the third-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Rugby Pro D2 and Top 14, for the 2023–24 season.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Previous season | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albi | Albi (Tarn) | Stadium Municipal d'Albi | align=center | 13,580 | 3rd | |
| Blagnac | Blagnac (Haute-Garonne) | Stade Ernest-Argelès | align=center | 4,000 | 4th | |
| Bourg-en-Bresse | Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain) | Stade Marcel-Verchère | align=center | 11,400 | 6th | |
| Bourgoin-Jallieu | Bourgoin-Jallieu (Isère) | Stade Pierre Rajon | align=center | 9,441 | 5th | |
| Carcassonne | Carcassonne (Aude) | Stade Albert Domec | align=center | 10,000 | Relegated from Pro D2 (15th) | |
| Chambéry | Chambéry (Savoie) | Stade Mager 3 | align=center | 3,000 | 9th | |
| Hyères | Hyères (Var) | Stade André Véran | align=center | 3,000 | 12th | |
| Massy | Massy (Essonne) | Stade Jules-Ladoumègue | align=center | 3,200 | Relegated from Pro D2 (16th) | |
| Narbonne | Narbonne (Aude) | Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié | align=center | 12,000 | 7th | |
| Nice | Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) | Stade des Arboras | align=center | 3,000 | 8th | |
| Périgueux | Périgueux (Dordogne) | Stade Francis-Rongiéras | align=center | 9,000 | Promoted from Nationale 2 (1st) | |
| Suresnes | Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine) | Stade Jean-Moulin | align=center | 11th | ||
| Tarbes | Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) | Stade Maurice Trélut | align=center | 16,400 | 10th | |
| Vienne | Vienne (Isère) | Stade Jean-Etcheberry | align=center | 8,000 | Promoted from Nationale 2 (2nd) |
| Teams | Region or country | Team(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Albi, Blagnac, Carcassonne, Narbonne, Tarbes | ||
| 4 | Bourg-en-Bresse, Bourgoin, Chambéry, Vienne | ||
| 2 | Massy, Suresnes | ||
| Hyères, Nice | |||
| 1 | Périgueux |
The regular season uses a double round-robin format, in which each team plays the others home and away.
There is relegation and promotion between both the Rugby Pro D2 and Nationale 2, the fourth-level competition. Nationale conducts a play-off system similar to the one currently used in Pro D2, with the top six teams qualifying for the play-offs and the top two teams receiving byes into the semi-finals. The winner of the play-offs earns the league championship and automatic promotion to the next season's Prod D2; the runner-up enters a play-off with the second-from-bottom Pro D2 team, with the winner of that play-off taking up the final place in Pro D2.
There are 26 rounds in the regular season, with each team playing each other team home and away. The two halves of the season are played in the same order, with the away team in the first half of the season at home in the second half. The semi-finals and final take place in May, with the semi-finals being held over two-legs and the final taking place at a predetermined site. At present, 14 clubs compete in the competition.[1] [2]
France's bonus point system operates as follows:[3]
The team finishing in 13th place faces the runner-up of the Nationale 2, with the winner of this match playing in the 2024–25 Nationale and the loser in the 2024–25 Nationale 2.