Power Rankings Liqui Moly Starligue: “Usual suspects at the top – free fall for Nimes”

March really had the smell of truth about it. Not the truth of the raw standings, not the truth of budgets, not the truth of names on paper. The truth of the month. The truth of the teams that showed up when the schedule tightened, the ones that won ugly games, and the ones that started to slide, sometimes despite still having some life in their performances. This is Power Rankings Liqui Moly Starligue with Hen Livgot. 

In the league matches played in March, Paris and Nantes kept imposing their pace, Montpellier consolidated its base, Limoges took on real stature, and behind them, the bottom of the table started to move seriously again. Let me make it clear: this ranking does not reward the overall league position. It rewards the month being studied. The feeling, yes, but a feeling framed by results, context, momentum, individual performances that can be verified, and the real weight of the matches. March produced several 4-for-4 teams, several psychological turning points, and a few signals that were much heavier than a simple final score.

Power Rankings is Hen Livgot’s monthly take on which teams are truly in form. It’s not about the league table, but about how the teams have performed during the past month. Hen Livgot is a handball expert and licensed professional players’ agent.

Here are the French Men’s League Power Rankings for March!

Movement of the month

• Limoges took on genuine European-level stature in both play and control. Three straight wins after the narrow loss to Saint-Raphaël, including one at Nîmes and another at Toulouse, is no longer a coincidence. 
• Istres stopped merely looking alive: the club actually regained ground with wins over Tremblay and Saint-Raphaël, and the bottom spot changed hands. 
• Nîmes is the team that fell the most this month: four straight losses, Europe slipping away, yet paradoxically their last outing against Paris showed that not everything was dead in the content. 
• Toulouse started the month looking like a credible top-five candidate and finished it with fourth place moving clearly farther away after the setback against Limoges. 

1: PSG

Current league standing: 1
December ranking: 2

Yes, I’m keeping Paris at number one. Four league matches played in March, four wins, still no league defeat after 21 rounds, and above all two things stand out to me: the ability to win a top-level clash away at Montpellier, and then the ability to survive in a real trap game at Nîmes. This is not just a leader; it is still the team that navigated the month best without showing any visible structural weakness.

Paris had several different faces this month. At Montpellier, PSG won 32–30 with Yahia Omar on fire with 8 goals, in a match where Stefan Madsen’s group made the difference through consistency before Wallem Peleka shut the door late on. Against Toulouse, Paris shifted into pure domination mode: 39–21, 17 saves by Mikkel Lovkvist, 9 goals from Ferran Solé. And at Nîmes, when the match opened up, Paris once again found an answer with Yahia Omar going 9/12 shooting and adding 7 assists, enough to earn a deserved place in the Team of the Week.

What I also like about PSG’s month is that it was not one-dimensional. The club was able to win in a very tactical scenario, then in a stormy one. Stefan Madsen’s staff often found the right balance between rotation and immediate impact, and the group showed the cohesion the club itself highlighted after Nîmes. It was not spectacular every minute, but it was mature. And in a monthly ranking, competitive maturity matters a lot.

2: Nantes

Current league standing: 2 
December ranking: 3

Nantes can absolutely argue for first place, honestly. The H also went 4-for-4 in the league this month: Nîmes, Chartres, Dunkerque, Aix. On paper, that is extremely clean. In sporting terms, it is a contender’s month. And when you place that in the broader European context of the club, you are talking about a group that kept performing without letting the pressure drop.

Why do I still put them behind Paris? Because Nantes’ month felt slightly less clean in terms of total control. Against Nîmes, Nantes escaped 36–34 after being pushed hard for a long time; Aymeric Minne finished 11/12, Julien Bos 5/6, Valero Rivera 5/6, but the game also showed that the opponent could hurt them badly. Against Dunkerque, the H won 26–22 but saw Minne go off with an ankle issue, and Thibaud Briet had to weigh in heavily during crunch time to secure the finish. At Aix, Nantes finally won 29–28 almost by the skin of their teeth after being outplayed for long stretches.

But that also says something worth respecting: Grégory Cojean’s H knows how to win in different ways. This is a team that can run away with games, but also swallow a badly started match and still come out with the two points. The club’s official site stressed that finish at Aix, and the staff is clearly identified around Cojean on official Nantes channels. In March, Nantes was a little less imperial than Paris in the overall feeling, but almost as strong in substance.

3: Montpellier

Current league standing: 3 
December ranking: 1

MHB had a strong podium-level month. A loss to Paris, yes, but then: an authoritative win at Sélestat, a well-managed return against Chartres, and a collective base that remains very solid. Montpellier was not the most brilliant team of March, but it was one of the most reliable. And at the highest level, reliability is valuable currency.

The match against Paris left a paradoxical impression: defeat, but lively content. Rémi Desbonnet answered Lovkvist in the goalkeeper battle, Charles Bolzinger and Kylian Prat brought Montpellier back into crunch time, and MHB showed it can still hurt the very top teams. Then at Sélestat, Benjamin Richert and Valentin Porte combined for 12 goals to keep the offensive line moving. Finally against Chartres, Montpellier got back into rhythm without panicking, with Jack Thurin on the other side mentioned as Chartres’ top scorer, but MHB overall controlled the evening.

The coaching framework also deserves to be highlighted. Erick Mathé is firmly in place at Montpellier, the club still presents him as Montpellier’s head coach, and his comments at the end of March spoke of a group almost back to full strength and of reconnecting collectively after the international break. That matches what we saw: a structured team, not constantly on fire, but very clear in its identity.

4: Limoges

Current league standing: 4
December ranking: 9

For me, this is the biggest rise in credibility of the month. Limoges lost by one goal at Saint-Raphaël right at the start of March, then reeled off three wins that really matter: at Nîmes, against Istres, and at Toulouse. There is a difference between winning three matches and sending a message. Limoges, in March, sent a message.

At Nîmes, Limoges was sharper, more aggressive defensively, more clinical in the hot moments, despite Wesley Pardin’s saves. Against Istres, there was some danger late on, but Jules Lignières delivered 10 final passes, which says a lot about the team’s offensive control. Then at Toulouse, Limoges struck hard again: a 37–31 win, with Jules Lignières again finishing with 10 goals according to L’Équipe. At that point, this is no longer just a “good month.” It is a month that changes the outside perception of the team’s status.

That is exactly why I place them ahead of Saint-Raphaël and Aix. Limoges did not just collect points; it won matches that smelled like direct competition for Europe. And in this league, that counts double. A monthly ranking has to recognize that kind of surge.

5: Saint-Raphaël

Current league standing: 6 
December ranking: 7

Saint-Raphaël had a stronger month than it may look at first glance if you only read the final result. A 32–31 win over Limoges at the beginning of the month, then 35–34 against Dijon, then 30–28 against Cesson-Rennes. That is three wins that kept the team in the right pack. And Drevy Paschal was again a real factor on the wing, with 8 goals from 10 shots against Cesson according to the league.

But the defeat at Istres changes the tone of the month. Not only because it hurts the standings. Because it came against a team with its back to the wall, in a regional derby, and fully reopened the survival battle. L’Équipe called it a major upset, Maritima framed it differently: Istres kept “scratching” and Saint-Raphaël became the victim of the night. That is exactly the kind of defeat that prevents a team from climbing higher in a monthly power ranking.

6: Aix

Current league standing: 9 
December ranking: 5

PAUC sits sixth here, but the month was honestly respectable. A win over Sélestat, a very hard-fought draw at Chartres, and a one-goal loss to Nantes in a match Aix controlled for long stretches. It was not a flashy month, but it was the month of a serious, solid team that is difficult to shake.

The match at Chartres says a lot to me: Aymeric Zaepfel scored at the buzzer to snatch the 30–30 draw, Eliott Desblancs had 6 goals at 86%, and Nikoloz Kalandadze added 4 goals and 4 assists. Then against Nantes, Aix lost 28–29 but still gave the feeling that it had genuinely shaken a title contender. That does not taste the same as a win, but in a ranking of the month, that kind of sustained competitiveness deserves recognition.

7: Chambéry

Current league standing: 5 
December ranking: 4

Chambéry had a month that really split in two. The start was rougher: a loss at Cesson-Rennes, then an urgent need to react. The end was better: a win at Dijon, then a clear victory over Sélestat. The overall return is not high enough to aim any better, but there was clearly a correction.

The details matter here. At Dijon, Hugo Pimenta scored 9 goals and triggered the decisive swing in crunch time with a life-saving 4–0 run. Against Sélestat, the club highlighted the tactical impact of Asier Antonio’s timeout, then the finishing of Emilien Peyronnet and Elio Zammit, both with 8 goals. Chambéry also officially confirms that Asier Antonio Marcos is indeed the head coach, still in place after extending until 2028. Again, this was not a beautiful month, but it was a month that avoided drift.

8: Toulouse

Current league standing: 7 
December ranking: 6

Toulouse is probably the most frustrating team of the month. On March 4, La Dépêche described March as crucial in the race for Europe. Fenix first responded well: a 31–27 win at Dunkerque, with the local press calling the team “irresistible.” But then the slope broke: a thrashing in Paris, then a home defeat to Limoges in a match that clearly pushed fourth place farther away.

There were still individual performances worth noting. At Dunkerque, the local Toulouse coverage insisted on Fenix’s solidity and on Lettens’ display. Against Limoges, Erwin Feuchtmann scored 7 goals, but the team conceded 37 and saw the gap to fourth grow to seven points, again according to La Dépêche. This is exactly the type of month where the raw record does not tell the whole story: two wins, two losses, but a final feeling of regression.

9: Istres

Current league standing: 15 
December ranking: 16

Istres did not have a great month in the classic sense. But it had a month of active survival, and that carries real value. A win over Tremblay, a frustrating loss at Limoges, then a huge result against Saint-Raphaël. Suddenly, the club was no longer bottom.

What I like about Istres’ month is the emotional density. The club’s official site clearly framed the match against Saint-Raphaël as a central appointment. Then Maritima insisted that Istres kept “scratching” and scratching. And on the court, names emerged: Micke Brasseleur with 8 goals, Mohamed Hisham Sanad with 7 in the turning-point match. That is when you can talk about a real survival turning point, not just one successful evening.

10: Dunkerque

Current league standing: 12 
December ranking: 15

Dunkerque had a straightforward month to read: two losses against stronger sides, two vital wins down below. Losses to Toulouse and Nantes, but then a win against Dijon after already beating Tremblay in late February. I have them tenth because the month was useful, adult, and oriented toward survival.

The club’s official site summed up the stakes before Dijon very clearly: win to move a little farther away from the red zone. That is exactly what happened. March also saw a change in the club presidency at USDK, with Jean-Pierre Vandaele leaving and Bastien Lamon arriving, which adds a bit of institutional context to the period. Not enough to create a glamorous story, but enough to speak of a club that ended the month better than it began it.

11: Tremblay

Current league standing: 8 
December ranking: 10

Tremblay’s month was a real zigzag. Defeats at Istres and, before that, against Dunkerque in late February; then a huge response against Nîmes; then a win at Cesson-Rennes. It was not linear, but there were still two victories that changed the atmosphere around the team.

The match against Nîmes is the centerpiece. Kylian Rigault went 10/11 shooting with 5 assists, Thibault Garaudet added 5 goals and 7 assists, and Rubens Pierre produced 19 saves at 43%. It was a game in which Tremblay truly rolled over the opponent after halftime. Then at Cesson, the 32–31 win confirmed it was not just a one-off. I do not place them higher because the month remained irregular, but the rebound was real.

12: Chartres

Current league standing: 14 
December ranking: 14

Chartres did not collapse, but it settled into that zone where every point feels like oxygen. The draw against Aix had exactly that taste. The problem is that the 37–30 loss at Montpellier then reminded everyone that the club remains dangerously close to the red zone. L’Équipe said it bluntly: CCMHB is beginning to scare itself.

Individually, the draw against Aix brought two standout lines: Gaël Tribillon with 8 goals at 80%, Sebastian Skube with 6 goals at 86%. But the month as a whole remains too defensive in this ranking: surviving, hanging on, not really turning the corner. Respectable, not much more.

13: Cesson-Rennes

Current league standing: 10 
December ranking: 12

Cesson won only one match this month, but it was a real high-value win against Chambéry: 35–31. The problem is that it remained alone. After that came a loss at Aix, a loss at Saint-Raphaël, and a home loss to Tremblay. That starts to weigh heavily in a March ranking.

I do not put them lower because beating Chambéry is not nothing, and because the club still showed resistance in several close matches. But there was no continuity, and in a monthly ranking, lack of continuity is punished quickly.

14: Nimes

Current league standing: 11 
December ranking: 11

This is the true collapse of March. Loss at Nantes, loss to Limoges, a sporting humiliation at Tremblay, then a one-goal loss against Paris. Four matches, four defeats. If you go back to March 1, David Degouy was still speaking of a “good test” at Nantes after a strong start to 2026. One month later, the momentum looked completely different.

And yet, not everything is black in the details. At Nantes, Hugo Kamtchop Baril opened 7/7. Against Limoges, Wesley Pardin kept hope alive with his saves. At Tremblay, Hugo Kamtchop Baril again scored 8 and Lou Derisbourg handed out 8 assists. Against Paris, Jean-Loup Faustin scored 10 while the team missed an upset by the smallest margin. But the overall conclusion remains brutal: the run was bad, the European positions moved away, and local coverage clearly emphasized this fourth straight defeat.

And on the staff side, there is no ambiguity: David Degouy was still USAM’s head coach throughout the local March coverage, and this was indeed his group that went through this grey zone. The most worrying part, beyond the results, is that March wiped away a good part of the credit built up in January and February.

15: Sélestat

Current league standing: 13 
December ranking: 8

Sélestat lost all four league matches this month: Aix, Toulouse, Montpellier, Chambéry. There was fight, but the month brought no real reward in points. And for a survival team, a month without points is almost always a badly ranked month.

The most interesting thing to highlight is the view from the other side. Before round 21, Chambéry stressed that Sélestat still had a three-point cushion over Dijon and Istres, while also underlining that any relaxation could become dangerous. That is exactly what March started to tell us: not a dead team, but a team with very little margin left.

16: Dijon

Current league standing: 16
December ranking: 13

Dijon finishes bottom of the month, and quite clearly. Defeat at Saint-Raphaël, defeat against Chambéry, defeat at Dunkerque. In truth, March mostly gave Dijon the wrong role: competitive in stretches, but never rewarded.

The 35–34 at Saint-Raphaël shows there is still life. The 34–30 against Chambéry shows there was still a match for 53 minutes. But the cold reality is that while Dijon kept losing, Istres started to find air. And in a monthly power ranking, that crossing point hurts badly.

Team of the Month: PSG

I completely understand anyone voting for Nantes. But Paris beat Montpellier away, destroyed Toulouse, then held on at Nîmes when the match became messy. Across the month as a whole, with the unbeaten run still intact, it remains the benchmark.

Player of the Month: Yahia Omar (PSG)

He ticks every box of the impact filter: 8 goals in the clash at Montpellier, 9 goals and 7 assists at Nîmes, official club spotlight, then a place in the Team of the Week. That gives you performance, repetition, and weight of matches.

Storyline of the month: Limoges settles in, Istres breathes, Nîmes slips away

For me, that is the real story of March behind the PSG-Nantes duel. Limoges is no longer just playing spoiler, Istres reopened the survival race, and Nîmes let a month slip away that could have changed its ceiling for the end of the season. The general standings say one thing; the month of March tells another, much more nervous story.

Autor: Hen Livgot

Hen Livgot is a handball expert and licensed professional players’ agent.