December in France didn’t reward “big club behaviour”. It rewarded repeatable habits: who can defend a lead on tired legs, who can survive an ugly away half, who can still score when the plan breaks and the game turns into noise. This is Power Rankings Liqui Moly Starligue with Hen Livgot.
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 December!
Movement of the month
- Montpellier didn’t just win – they controlled December. Three games, three statements, no apologies.
- Chambéry looked like a team that has found its winter identity: defend, run, punish you for blinking.
- Sélestat used December to drag themselves out of the fog – not pretty, but real points, real resistance.
1: Montpellier HB
Current league standing: 3
November ranking: 7
This was the cleanest December in the league: no drama, no wobble, just high-output handball with the feel of a group that knows exactly what it wants. The best snapshot is the offensive surge against Saint-Raphaël, 44–34, the kind of scoreline that tells you they weren’t interested in “managing” anything. And yes, even locally the tone was celebration-mode – it landed like an event, not just two points.
2: Paris Saint-Germain
Current league standing: 1
November ranking: 1
Photo: Jon Olav Nesvold / BILDBYRÅN
Paris didn’t have a perfect December, but they had a Paris December: one gear higher than most teams’ “best”, and still room for irritation. The demolition job at Coubertin against Limoges, 40–25, is the month in one line. Yet the draw in Nantes (31–31) also matters: you don’t win the month with highlights – you win it with your floor level when the arena is boiling.
3: HBC Nantes
Current league standing: 2
November ranking: 2
Nantes’ December felt like a pressure test, and they passed it without flinching. The 31–31 against Paris wasn’t a “missed win”; it was proof that their structure doesn’t melt when the opponent is louder on paper. That’s the point: the month showed a team that can live inside tight games and still look comfortable.
4: Chambéry Savoie Mont Blanc
Current league standing: 5
November ranking: 9
Chambéry’s December wasn’t polite. It was direct. The away win at Tremblay, 40–33, is exactly the profile: tempo, punishment in transition, and an edge that travels. You can hear it in the local framing too – this was treated like confirmation, not surprise.
5: Pays d’Aix Université Club (Aix)
Current league standing: 9
November ranking: 10
Aix were a classic December team: you could see the dents, but you could also see the points. The opening win over Nîmes, 32–26, set the tone. And even in the local Marseille/Istres-area coverage, the story around this pocket of clubs is consistency versus chaos – Aix looked closer to the first.
6: Fenix Toulouse
Current league standing: 8
November ranking: 5
Photo: Ludvig Thunman / BILDBYRÅN
Toulouse finished December with a win that felt like relief and clarity at the same time: 27–22 over Nîmes. The local lens in Haute-Garonne was basically: “needed that.” In a month where rhythm is everything, Toulouse at least found a way to close the year with a stable shape.
7: Saint-Raphaël Var Handball
Current league standing: 6
November ranking: 3
Saint-Raphaël’s December was a story of contrast: the solid home win against Dunkerque 35–27 came first, and it looked like the month might be smooth. Then the Montpellier game happened (44–34) and reminded everyone what the top end of the league looks like when it decides to sprint. Locally, the club is still treated like a serious product – even the radio/social chatter is about keeping standards, not survival.
8: Sélestat Alsace Handball
Current league standing: 12
November ranking: 13
This is where December matters most: teams like Sélestat aren’t chasing aesthetics – they’re chasing oxygen. The win over Dijon, 32–28, was exactly that: points with a survival smell. And the regional coverage around the club leaned into the same thing: a team fighting to make every home night count.
9: Limoges Handball
Current league standing: 4
November ranking: 8
Limoges had the roughest single night of December at the top end – the 40–25 loss in Paris is a bruise you can’t hide. But they didn’t fold the month. The response at home against Chartres, 36–29, matters because it shows they can reset after a hit. Even the local Limoges conversation was very “bounce-back” focused, not panic.
10: Tremblay-en-France
Current league standing: 7
November ranking: 6
Tremblay were the most “December” team in the league: dangerous, emotional, capable of a big swing… and still not fully stable. The statement result was beating Paris, 38–31. That game also produced December’s loudest individual storyline (more on that below), and national coverage treated it as a real shockwave, not a fluke.
11: USAM Nîmes Gard
Current league standing: 10
November ranking: 4
Nîmes’ month is basically summed up by one number: one. Because that 35–34 win over Chambéry is the kind of one-goal December night that keeps your season breathing. Local reporting framed it exactly like that – a win with meaning, not just points.
12: Cesson-Rennes Métropole Handball
Current league standing: 11
November ranking: 16
Cesson’s December wasn’t kind, but it wasn’t empty either. The game that defines it is the narrow home loss to Limoges, 30–31 – that’s a “we’re close, but close doesn’t pay” result. In the local Rennes-area ecosystem, the tone around the club was still very much about finding a way out of the spiral.
13: Dijon Métropole Handball
Current league standing: 13
November ranking: 12
Dijon didn’t dominate December, but they did something valuable: they found a clean home win. 39–31 against Istres is a proper December lifeline. Even locally, the framing was straightforward: finally a result that gives the group air.
14: Chartres Métropole Handball
Current league standing: 14
November ranking: 14
Chartres’ December reads like a hard lesson in margins. The opening loss at Chambéry, 30–33, was close enough to tease you. Then Limoges happened (36–29) and suddenly December is just damage control. In the local Eure-et-Loir coverage, it was treated as a rough run rather than a crisis headline – but the pressure is obvious.
15: Dunkerque
Current league standing: 15
November ranking: 15
December was brutal: three games, and each one felt like carrying a bag of stones uphill. The clearest example is the home loss to Montpellier, 28–36 – you can be brave, you can be organised, and still get outgunned. Local radio coverage around Dunkerque leaned into the same reality: tough schedule, tough moment, keep working.
16: Istres Provence Handball
Current league standing: 16
November ranking: 11
Istres didn’t have a soft landing in December – they got dragged into fight-after-fight. The 23–33 loss to Sélestat is the kind of result that hurts twice, because it’s a direct opponent taking points and confidence. And even in the local Provence-area sports agenda, the club sits in that weekly conversation of “how do they flip the script?”
Team of the month: Montpellier
Three December wins with the clearest dominance level, capped by 44–34 against Saint-Raphaël.
Player of the month: Mattéo Fadhuile (Tremblay)
I’m not picking the “obvious name”. I’m picking the December impact that actually moved the league. Tremblay’s 38–31 win over Paris was December’s loudest upset, and Fadhuile’s performance in that match was headline-level in national coverage. Add the strong local reporting interest around his story and profile, and then the official league recognition via the LNH’s own channels – that’s two-of-three criteria without stretching anything.
Autor: Hen Livgot
Hen Livgot is a handball expert and licensed professional players’ agent.