Paris starts its title defence as Coupe de France draw takes shape
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The road to the 2027 Coupe de France final has officially begun, and the first obstacle for Paris Volley, the reigning champions, will be one of the most familiar names in French volleyball: Chaumont VB 52.
The draw for the first round has produced eleven matches, all scheduled for November 3 at 8pm, with Paris–Chaumont immediately standing out as one of the most intriguing ties.
Paris lifted the trophy for the fifth time last season after defeating Nice 3-1 in the final, which was played at the newly opened Adidas Arena in Paris. The venue will host the decisive stage of the competition again this season.
The format also gives the draw an interesting twist.
The five best-placed teams from the 2025/26 Alterna StarLigue regular season — Montpellier, Poitiers, Tours, Tourcoing and Toulouse — have been exempted from the opening round and will enter the competition directly in the round of 16.
That means the first stage will be particularly important for the teams outside that privileged group, with several clubs from different levels of the French pyramid facing an immediate chance to make an impact.
Among the other ties, Plessis-Robinson will face Cannes, while Fréjus will host Nice. Saint-Nazaire travel to Reims, Narbonne visit Ajaccio and Sète face L’Abeille Girondine.
The draw has also produced three all-Ligue B encounters: Harnes–Nancy, Chalon–Cambrai and Rennes–Martigues.
The remaining two matches will bring top-level opposition into lower divisions, with Elite side Conflans-Andrésy-Jouy hosting Saint-Quentin and Hyères-Pierrefeu-La Londe welcoming Royan. In France’s men’s volleyball structure, the Elite championship sits below the top-flight Alterna StarLigue and Ligue B, making these ties natural opportunities for the lower-ranked clubs to turn the Cup into something more than a one-night fixture.
The competition will then move quickly into its decisive stages.
The round of 16 is scheduled for November 24, followed by the quarter-finals on December 15 and the semi-finals on February 23.
The two finalists will return to the Adidas Arena on March 27, 2027, for the second consecutive season.
The choice of the Paris venue reflects the impact of last season’s first edition there.
The 2026 finals attracted crowds of around 7,000 spectators, reaching close to the arena’s 8,000 capacity when invited guests were included, prompting the French federation to extend the partnership for another season. The final stage is therefore becoming an increasingly visible showcase for French volleyball, rather than simply the closing match of a domestic cup.
Before anyone can think about Paris in March, however, the holders have to survive November.
And they have been handed a serious opening test: Chaumont, a club with its own history in the competition and one of the established forces of French volleyball. With eleven matches separating the first-round hopefuls from the next stage, the 2026/27 Coupe de France is already offering its first reasons to pay attention.
All games:
• Conflans-Andrésy-Jouy (Elite) – Saint-Quentin (Division 2)
• Hyères-Pierrefey-la-Londe (Elite) – Royan (Division 1)
• Plessis-Robinson (Division 1) – Cannes (Division 1)
• Fréjus (Division 2) – Nice (Division 1)
• Reims (Division 2) – Saint-Nazaire (Division 1)
• Ajaccio (Division 2) – Narbonne (Division 1)
• Harnes (Division 2) – Nancy (Division 2)
• Chalon (Division 2) – Cambrai (Division 2)
• Rennes (Division 2) – Martigues (Division 2)
• L’Abeille Girondine (Division 2) – Sète (Division 1)
• Paris (Division 1) – Chaumont (Division 1)
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