Ligue 2 (French pronunciation: [liɡ dø]), formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with both Ligue 1 and the third division Championnat National. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 games each totaling 380 games in the season. Most games are played on Fridays and Mondays, with a few games played during weekday and weekend evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January.

Ligue 2 was founded a year after the creation of the first division in 1933 under the name Division 2 and has served as the second division of French football ever since. The name lasted until 2002 before switching to its current name. Since the league is a part of the LFP, it allows clubs who are on the brink of professionalism to become so. However, if a club suffers relegation to the Championnat National, its professional status can be revoked temporarily until they return to Ligue 2. The current champion is Evian, who won promotion to Ligue 1 on its first attempt. The second and third-place finishers were Dijon and Ajaccio, respectively.

The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary (and modern) Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576. The League intended the eradication of Protestants—also known as Calvinists or Huguenots—out of Catholic France during the Protestant Reformation.

Pope Sixtus V, Philip II of Spain, and the Jesuits were all supporters of this Catholic party.

As Protestantism expanded through parts of Europe, leaders of Catholic nations, in particular Philip II of Spain, and the Pope, felt threatened. In an effort to counter the growing power of Lutherans, Calvinists, and members of the Reformed Church of France, they formed a league to stop the spread of these Protestant factions. The Protestant Calvinists at that time dominated much of the French nobility, leading to active persecution of Catholics in some regions.

The League was spearheaded by Henry, the Duke of Guise, who used it not only to defend the Catholic cause, but also as a political tool in an attempt to usurp the French throne.