Inauguration and Tour de France For centuries, the French royal family controlled the
Forest of Rouvray, today a public park called the
Bois de Boulogne, and used it as a private recreation area and hunting ground for the king's sons (the princes). Following the
French Revolution of 1789, the area was taken over by the central government. In 1852, upon the declaration of the
Second French Empire, Emperor
Napoleon III ceded ownership to the
Council of Paris. They moved to the stadium permanently in July 1974. Paris FC returned to Ligue 1 in 1978, sharing the Parc with PSG before being relegated in 1979. Racing Paris also shared the stadium from 1984 until their relegation from Ligue 1 in 1990. PSG became the Parc's sole tenant in 1997, when both French national teams moved to the Stade de France.{{cite news The
1975 European Cup final, played at the current Parc, went down in history as one of the most famous.
Bayern Munich clinched the title by defeating
Leeds United 2–0 in a highly controversial match. French referee
Michel Kitabdjian did not send off Leeds midfielder
Terry Yorath after a brutal foul, but also denied Leeds two clear penalties from Bayern captain
Franz Beckenbauer and ruled out another goal for a dubious offside. The referee had to stop the game several times before the Germans scored twice in the final 20 minutes. The English fans began setting fire to the stands and throwing seats at the police. Bayern had to cut short their lap of honor. Twenty people were arrested and almost 50 fans and police officers were injured.{{cite news A year earlier, underdogs had won their first major trophy against Platini's reigning Ligue 1 champions
Saint-Étienne in the
1982 Coupe de France final at the Parc, one of the most iconic finals in the tournament's history.{{cite news
Stade de France and 1998 FIFA World Cup During the 1980s, several major non-sporting events were held at the Parc.
Pope John Paul II chose the stadium to celebrate Mass during his first visit to France on 1 June 1980, while French politician
Jacques Chirac gave his election speech there for his
1981 presidential bid for the conservative
Gaullist party
Rally for the Republic (RPR). Towards the end of the decade, it also began hosting concerts, with
Michael Jackson being the first to perform at the Parc in 1988 for his
Bad World Tour, which attracted 130,000 spectators over two days. The French rugby union team set the all-time attendance record at the Parc in 1989, when 50,370 spectators watched their 31–12 victory over
Wales in the
1989 Five Nations Championship. The stadium also hosted
England's iconic 19–10 quarter-final victory over France in the
1991 Rugby World Cup, remembered as one of the greatest and bloodiest matches in rugby history.{{cite news In 1993, French football suffered one of its most painful defeats in front of a team record 48,402 spectators. France needed a draw, while
Bulgaria needed to win, to ensure qualification for the
1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA. With the score tied at 1–1 in the dying seconds of the match, French winger
David Ginola had the ball by the corner flag. Instead of wasting time and letting the clock run out, he overhit a cross intended for
Eric Cantona. The ball was collected by the Bulgarians, who launched a quick counterattack which resulted in
Emil Kostadinov scoring the winning goal. France manager
Gérard Houllier publicly blamed Ginola for the 2–1 defeat.{{Cite news Construction of the Stade de France began in May 1995. In the same month, the Parc hosted
Real Zaragoza's victory over
Arsenal in the
1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. The stadium witnessed one of PSG's darkest moments in Europe in January 1997, when they were defeated 6–1 by
Juventus in the first leg of the
1996 UEFA Super Cup.{{cite news The 81,000-capacity Stade de France opened with a friendly against Spain in January 1998, which France won with a solitary goal from
Zinedine Zidane.{{cite news
2024 Summer Olympics and potential PSG move To date, the
2001 Heineken Cup final was the last European club final held at the Parc. English rugby union team
Leicester Tigers were crowned
European Rugby Champions Cup winners after defeating French champions
Stade Français 34–30.{{cite news The
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup became the first women's tournament held at the stadium, where
France defeated
South Korea in the opening match. The Parc then hosted four further group stage matches, a round of 16 match, and France's quarter-final elimination against the
United States.{{cite news After being snubbed twice in 1900 and 1924, the Parc was selected as the host of the
2024 Summer Olympics. Both the
men's and
women's football tournaments were held at the stadium. A total of ten matches were played there, including six group stage matches, two quarter-finals, and both finals. In the
men's final,
Spain secured their
second gold medal with a 5–3 extra-time victory over host country France, while the
United States clinched their record fifth gold medal by beating
Brazil 1–0 in the
women's final.{{cite news The 2016 renovation work increased PSG's stadium revenue from €20 million to €100 million, but the club was interested in purchasing the Parc to increase its capacity to 60,000 in the coming years and establish itself as one of Europe's leading teams. PSG considered three options: expanding the Parc, moving to the Stade de France, or building a new stadium. In 2023, after the Council of Paris rejected the club's bid to acquire the Parc, a purchase of the Stade de France was explored. PSG abandoned the proposal in January 2024, citing logistical, financial, and cultural reasons. The club confirmed its plans to leave the Parc and build a new stadium in February 2024.{{cite news ==Former and current tenants==