Ligue 1 sits in a unique position among Europe’s top five leagues economically. The first example manifests in broadcasting rights; Ligue 1 has the lowest broadcasting revenues among Europe’s major leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1). The result of this is an added emphasis placed on European football. For example, in 2017-18 PSG earned €63.9M in domestic TV rights (Ligue 1/domestic cups), meanwhile, the club netted €64M from their appearance in the Champions League – meaning 50% of their total broadcast earnings came from European football. As is the case for most European sides, broadcast income forms a significant portion of PSG’s overall revenue – if they were to miss out on UCL competition they would sacrifice a sizable portion of their overall operating budget. Nonetheless, for a club such as PSG, which can all but guarantee UCL football, and whose marketing arm far outweighs the rest of Ligue 1 this concern is marginal. Conversely, for the clubs on the bubble of European football this is not the case. The decision to invest heavily in a squad with the expectation of European admission is dubious, and complicated by the second aspect of France’s unique footballing economy – intense oversight. France’s professional footballing body – Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) – requires all of the country’s professional teams to open up their books each year for inspection. There is a litany of rules, regulations, as well as corresponding justifications for spending that need to be adhered to. Nonetheless, the main purpose is to ensure healthy clubs with limited to no debt. Failure to do so can result in fines or suspensions. This process has led to perhaps greater parity below the giant that is PSG, but it also means clubs have to be careful in their expenses, as a wrong move could easily result in year-over-year losses, and subsequent punishment.