Montpellier, Reims and St Etienne were relegated in the 2024-25 edition of Ligue 1.
Just like the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 is a league that consists of 18 teams rather than 20, with the latter being the standard among Europe's top leagues. As a result, the bottom two teams are relegated at the end of every season, while the third team must take part in a play-off tie. This is played over two legs against the play-off winner in Ligue 2.
Metz finished third from the bottom in the 2023/24 season on the same amount of points as Lorient, though with a better head-to-head away goals scored record (!). It wasn't enough in the end, though, as St. Etienne won the play-off game and thus secured their spot in the top flight for the current season.