France. When the championship started, there was no way to know that France will be the king of Europe in the summer of 1984. But French football was already well respected and considered among the best in the world. This was not so on club level, but still the French championship had solid reputation for years and was attractive to foreign players – very often the fate of French clubs depended on the foreign talent they employed. All that is just repeating the well known, so right to the game.
Third Division rarely got any attention outside France. It was divided geographically into 6 groups of 16 teams each. The winners got promoted to Second Division, but this was tricky: second teams of the leading clubs played here and they were not allowed to play in the Second Division. This made promotion a bit weird. For some reason, only 5 teams were promoted this year – that was to even the odd number of teams playing in the Second Division, but the criteria was murky: no team was promoted from Group Est. Why? The question stays. And it was not the only oddity.
Group Centre was won by AJ Auxerre II. They were illegible for promotion, so the second placed team goes up. Well, no – INF Vichy was second and not promoted. One can only speculate – they either refused promotion or failed some other criteria, possibly financial, and were left in third level. Third St. Etienne II, also illegible, so the 4th in the table – CO Le Puy – was promoted. Such is life… finishing 4th and getting awarded for that.
Group Centre-West. FC Toulouse II won it, but was illegible for promotion.
Bourg-sous-la-Roche was promoted as second placed. However, after the season they changed name, becoming AEPB La Roche-sur-Yon.
Group Est. FC Metz II won the championship. They were illegible for promotion, but no matter, for no team was promoted from this group at all.
Group Nord. At last champion got promoted: AC Amiens.
Group Ouest. AC Le Havre II won it, but it was illegible. FC Nantes II was second – also illegible.
Stade Malherbe Caen was 3rd and lucky – they were promoted.
Group Sud: The champions – OGC Nice II – were illegible, so the second-placed was promoted – FC Valence.
That was all. Good luck to the newcomers to Second Division next year.