PSG and Monaco Could See France Become European Heavyweights

In 1993, Marseille became the first and only French side to lift the European cup with a 1-0 win against AC Milan at the Olympiastadion in Munich after defender Basile Boli scored the winning goal.

Marseille were then stripped of the French title over match-fixing allegations and were demoted by the French Football Federation, effectively ending the chance for continued success.

Since that time, French football has only seen one finalist, with AS Monaco losing emphatically to a Porto side managed by a certain happy one in 2004. Ironically, in 2004 Monaco's current manager, Claudio Ranieri, and his Chelsea team were eliminated by the resurgent French side.

We have since seen Monaco relegated and now re-promoted with heavy investment at the club and a lower tax system. Monaco will go from Ligue 2 champions to Ligue 1 title contenders. Falcao, Moutinho, Rodriguez, Carvalho and Abidal are some of the top talent they have purchased as they look to return to the heights of the 2003-04 season.

Monaco will not be in the UEFA Champions League next season but would surely be expecting to finish in the top three given the amount of financial input the club has seen.

Paris Saint-Germain are slightly different from Monaco in that they have just won the league title and competed in last seasons Champions League with moderate success.

The away goals defeat to Barcelona was hardly embarrassing and proved they could compete at the European level.

The departure of Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid is a setback for the team from the French capital, but with names such as Ibrahimovic, Lucas Moura, Lavezzi and Silva playing for them, they can boast some of the most recognisable names playing in Europe.

Laurent Blanc's appointment was a surprise to many, but he has previous title-winning success following Bordeaux's Ligue 1 win in 2008-09.

The ongoing discussions with Edinson Cavani, as reported by Sky Sports, could make PSG stronger than last season. Should they continue to build, they could become one of the very best French teams of all time. 

While it is certainly too early to expect a French side to win the Champions League, a continued investment in and development of both AS Monaco and PSG could see French football rise to the top and atone for the failure of French football in the past.

This is certainly a strong moment for Ligue 1 and could be capitalised upon in order to bring future success to the league.