Paris Saint-Germain – from chaos to glory
February 26th, 2025by Tom Clegg
May 1968. France is in chaos as students protest and workers strike. Street battles are being fought between the police and the protestors. Charles de Gaulle's government teeters on the brink of the heart of the protest was the capital, Paris, the famously unruly city which had forged the French revolution and later brought down two other monarchs in 1830 and 1848, now rising in all of its glorious fury for the first time since the Paris Commune of 1871, with barricades, that most potent of revolutionary symbols, once again being raised in the capital.
In the early summer of 1968 Paris found itself as a city without order, returning to its famous revolutionary tradition.
It was also a city with just one top flight football club. It may seem bizarre, given the rich history of football in many of Europe's major capitals – London, Madrid, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Rome, Lisbon and Vienna – yet it is true.
During the amateur era of French football, Paris had dominated, with Standard Athletic Club winning four of the first five league titles and Club Francais, Gallia Club Paris, Racing Paris, CA Paris-Charenton and Stade Francais Paris also all triumphing between 1893 and 1929.
However, since the establishment of the professional league in 1932, Parisian clubs had performed far less impressively. The league title had not gone to the capital for over 30 years, and by 1968, Red Star were the city's sole representative in the top flight, and even they tended to struggle to avoid relegation each season.
Partly this failure can be explained by the growing popularity of football throughout France meaning there was simply more competition for the Parisian clubs. However there were other issues; the lack of space available in Paris meant clubs regularly had to change their stadiums, which gradually eroded their local identities and community ties.
This issue was worsened by the movement of people from the provinces of France to Paris, as many of these people now retained their support for a team from their original region rather than adopting a Parisian club.
There was also a significant lack of investment from wealthy local individuals or businesses. The low levels of support and investment therefore made it hard for the Parisian clubs to thrive in an increasingly competitive footballing environment.
In February 1969, the French Football Federation polled the residents of Paris, asking them 'Do you want a major football club in Paris?' – 'Yes' won by a landslide.
The club launched a 'subscription' service, similar to the Spanish model of club ownership by 'members', and swiftly accumulated around 20,00 subscribers- this model, democratic both in its ownership and in the referendum to form the club initially, perhaps helps to explain why PSG
