At 15:00 CET this Sunday, Le Gym will be making its first-ever trip to the Stade Jean-Bouin to take on Paris FC as part of Matchday 24 of Ligue 1. However, there’s more to this maiden trip to PFC’s new home than meets the eye…

Having been promoted to Ligue 1 last season after spending 18 years at the Stade Charléty, Paris FC migrated to the Stade Jean-Bouin, a stadium that it shares with rugby union side Stade Français and that, according to Paris’s municipal government, was “built in 1925 and renovated in 2013” and “possesses a maximum capacity of 20,000 spectators”. In their nearly 122-year history, though, Les Aiglons have never visited this particular ground.

The last Ligue 1 stadium to welcome Le Gym for the first time was the Stade Océane in December 2023. This 25,000-seater arena became the new home of Le Havre AC following its official opening in 2012, thereby taking over from the Stade Jules Deschaseaux, where Les Rouge et Noir had faced Les Ciel et Marine prior to the latter’s promotion to Ligue 1.

NOT OUR FIRST TRIP TO PARIS TO FACE PFC

Although this will be Le Gym’s first visit to the Stade Jean-Bouin, it won’t be the club’s first top-flight meeting with Paris FC – excluding the 1-1 draw on Matchday 6, of course – as these two teams met each other back in the 1970s, firstly at the Stade du Ray and then at the Parc des Princes.

Here are our previous Ligue 1 encounters with PFC in the French capital: 

• 21st October 1978: Paris FC 3-0 OGC Nice (Matchday 16)
  Goalscorers: Jean-François Beltramini (9', 82') and Bernard Caron (pen., 89').

• 25th September 1973: Paris FC 3-2 OGC Nice (Matchday 9) 
  Goalscorers: François Félix (18', 25') and Louis Floch (59') for Paris FC; Dick van Dijk (26') and Bernard Castellani (82') for Le Gym. 

• 7th April 1973: Paris FC 2-0 OGC Nice (Matchday 30)
  Goalscorers: Louis Floch (25', 82').

nICE’S VERY OWN stade Jean-Bouin

While no man has ever set foot in Paris’s Stade Jean-Bouin whilst playing for Les Rouge et Noir, its name may be familiar to the people of Nice given that the city once boasted its very own Stade Jean-Bouin. This stadium was used by youth-club teams, was refurbished in 1937 under the name “Stade du XVe Corps” and was even a venue where high-school students would sit their exams in the 1950s and 1960s, but it would never host an OGC Nice match. Since those days, the venue has been replaced by another sports complex, namely the Palais des Sports Jean-Bouin, which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a skating rink and a series of fitness rooms.

JUST WHO WAS “Jean Bouin”?

Born in Marseille in 1888, Alexandre François Étienne Jean Bouin is one of France’s greatest long-distance runners and was the holder of seven world records, six domestic titles and a silver medal from the 1912 Summer Olympics.

In 1910, Jean Bouin performed his military service at the Fort de la Revère, another well-known landmark for the people of Nice.

He was killed in World War I on 29th September 1914, and a number of buildings, particularly those dedicated to sport and education, now bear the name of this great champion.

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