Last month, the league decided to end its 2019 2020 season with immediate effect, following the decision by the French government to ban all major sporting events in the country until September.
With the final standings decided on a points-per-game basis, that meant Amiens and Toulouse were relegated to the second division, whilst Lyon were condemned to a seventh place finish, meaning that they missed out on lucrative European football for the first time in more than two decades.
All three teams decided to take legal action, and, after their appeals were rejected by a lower court, the Council of State delivered its verdict on Tuesday. They decided that the French league was in its rights to cancel the rest of the season, given that, at the time, there was no realistic possibility of it being completed in a reasonable time frame.
However, they have decided that the relegation of the two teams should be suspended, opening up the possibility of a 22 team league season next time, with the promotion of Lorient and Lens from Ligue 2 already confirmed.
Whilst Amiens will feel the reprieve is justified, as they were just four points from safety and had a realistic chance of surviving the drop, Toulouse must count themselves extremely fortunate. They were cast adrift at the bottom and, when the league was suspended, had secured just a single point since October a goalless draw with Amiens.
The matter may not be over though. The Council has given both Lyon the right to appeal, and the French league over the potential expansion of the division. Lyon continue to argue that the decision to end the season early was premature, given that the Bundesliga has since resumed, and the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga seasons are all due to restart in the next week or so.