PARIS (AP) — French attention turns to who gets the last automatic place for next season’s Champions League now that Paris Saint-Germain has secured its 14th Ligue 1 title with a victory over second-place Lens.
The last round in the top domestic league sets up a three-way contest involving Lille, Lyon and Rennes to finish third and join PSG and Lens in the European competition. The fourth-place team will go into qualifying for the Champions League.
It promises to be close, with third-place Lille one point ahead of Lyon and two clear of fifth-place Rennes.
At the bottom of the standings, Nice and Auxerre are vying to stay up and are level on points, with Le Havre one point above them.
Nantes and last-place Metz have been relegated. The team finishing 16th — Auxerre, Nice or Le Havre — must navigate a tricky promotion-relegation playoff against the third-place team in Ligue 2.
All the matches are on Sunday.
Lille and Nice fans have a close bond, and Lille could do Nice a big favor with a home win against Auxerre.
Nice is favorite to beat Metz at home but Rennes has a difficult away game at Marseille, which will move into fifth on goal difference if it wins.
Marseille coach Habib Beye was Rennes coach when it beat Marseille on the opening day of the season. He may have to beat his former club to save his job amid a chaotic season for Marseille.
Lyon also has a challenging game at home to Lens — although Lens coach Pierre Sage may rest key players ahead of the French Cup final against Nice on May 22.
PSG is away at Paris FC in the third capital city derby of the season. PSG won in the league but was knocked out of the French Cup by Paris FC in January.
Having ended a barren spell in front of goal with a penalty last weekend, Marseille striker Mason Greenwood will be keen to finish the season with a flourish.
So will Rennes striker Esteban Lepaul, the league's top scorer. He has 20 goals and could beat Greenwood and Ousmane Dembélé's joint-best tally of 21 from last season.
Lyon is hoping for a farewell flourish from Brazil forward Endrick, who plays the last game of his loan spell from Real Madrid, having netted eight goals in 20 games overall.
PSG will be missing right back Achraf Hakimi, who is still recovering from a thigh injury.
Rennes goalkeeper Brice Samba and Paris FC defender Moustapha Mbow are both suspended.
Gaining a Champions League place is vital to Lyon, which remains steeped in debt and only narrowly avoided relegation to the second tier last summer on financial grounds.
The club’s owner Eagle Football Group (EFG) announced a net loss of 186.5 million euros ($218.3 million) for the first half of the season. This is despite reducing the club's salary mass by 40% and player sales of 45.3 million euros — including rising star Rayan Cherki to Manchester City.
“The financial situation remains critical,” EFG said. “Due to legacy exposures, write-downs on receivables from related parties, and the urgent need to secure a financing and restructuring solution.”
Last July, Michele Kangtook over as president after John Textor's resignation. Textor became Lyon president four years ago after longstanding incumbent Jean-Michel Aulas sold to Eagle Football Holdings.
A combination of Champions League revenue and a new buyer is paramount to offset further financial losses.
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PSG's head coach Luis Enrique, right, hugs Lens' head coach Pierre Sage prior to the start of the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint Germain, in Lens, northern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
PSG's goalkeeper Matvey Safonov reacts after making a save during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint Germain, in Lens, northern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
NEW DELHI (AP) — Foreign ministers from the BRICS nations began a two-day meeting in New Delhi on Thursday as the expanding bloc faces divisions over the war in Iran, rising energy prices and growing global economic uncertainty.
The meeting brings together diplomats from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa along with newer member countries. It comes as the war in Iran has disrupted global energy supplies and driven up oil prices and coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov are attending. China is represented by Ambassador Xu Feihong while Foreign Minister Wang Yi remains in the Chinese capital during Trump’s visit.
India Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the talks would focus on global and regional challenges and ways to deepen cooperation among member nations.
In opening remarks, Jaishankar said BRICS could help developing countries more effectively respond to the health and financing challenges they face as well as high prices for energy, food and fertilizer.
“We meet at a time of considerable flux in international relations,” he said, adding that emerging and developing countries increasingly expect BRICS to play a “constructive and stabilizing role.”
Founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China, BRICS was formed as a grouping of major emerging economies seen as a counterbalance to Western-led institutions such as the G7. South Africa joined in 2010 and the bloc expanded further in 2024 with the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia became a full member in 2025.
The group has sought to expand its influence by pushing for a bigger role in a global order long dominated by the United States and its Western allies. It has gained support across parts of the Global South, where many countries have criticized Western-led financial institutions.
But BRICS nations remain divided on key issues.
India and China continue to compete for regional influence, while member countries often differ in their ties with the West. Russia’s war in Ukraine has further exposed those differences.
The bloc’s expansion also has added strains. Competing regional interests have increased the difficulty of presenting a unified position.
Divisions have sharpened further during the growing conflict in the Middle East. Iran and the UAE are BRICS members despite pursuing competing interests in the region.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Wednesday that disagreements within BRICS over the conflict had prevented the bloc from reaching a unified position.
Kazem Gharibabadi told news agency Press Trust of India that “one member country” had pushed for language condemning Iran, complicating efforts to build consensus within the grouping.
“We want India’s BRICS chairship to be successful. It is not a good approach to send a signal to the world that the BRICS is divided. One country is insisting on condemning Iran,” Gharibabadi said.
Foreign ministers and representatives of the BRICS nations, from right, UAE's Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy, Ethiopia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedion Timothewos, Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, India's Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, South Africa's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ronald Lamola, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono and Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong pose for a group photo during a two-day meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
India's Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar, right, speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as he arrives for a two-day BRICS nations meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
India's Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as he arrives for a two-day BRICS nations meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives for a two-day BRICS nations Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
India's Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar, right, shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as he arrives for a two-day BRICS nations meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
