It was a measure of how excellent Paris FC's season was that they ended up disappointed to come eighth in the final table.
The capital club should not have been in Ligue 2 at all - they had missed out on promotion from the third-tier Championnat National after coming third in last season's table and then losing to Orleans in a two-legged promotion play-off. But SC Bastia's financial woes meant they were demoted to the amateur ranks and a place opened up for Paris FC, who were confirmed as a Ligue 2 side three days before the season began.
Incredibly, after a dreadful performance in their previous appearance at this level in 2015-16 when they won just four games, this time they were genuine challengers for a top-five finish and a play-off spot almost right to the end. Their play-off hopes were only officially ended on the last day of the season.
Fabien Mercadal worked wonders with a squad that was not built with Ligue 2 football in mind. After a tentative start, Paris FC suffered just one defeat in 19 games from late August to the end of January. It was only then that a run of one win in six took away their momentum and, after back-to-back wins in mid-March revived their hopes, a poor run-in definitively killed their chances of finishing in the top five.
There were plenty of star turns, with Thomas Delaine a revelation at left-back, Redouane Kerrouche and Cyril Mandouki among the outstanding performers in midfield and ex-Saint-Etienne starlet Dylan Saint-Louis impressing in attack. Malik Tchokounte got 12 goals in his debut season at this level. Now the capital side will have to see if bigger clubs come in for any of their players, while coach Mercadal could be a target for rivals too.
