Wheelchair rugby league was developed by French rugby league players and coaches, Robert Fassolette and Wally Salvan, in 2000. The first competition was played by three teams, Vichy, Roanne and Beauvais, as part of a
French Téléthon. and in the same year a Trophy of France tournament took place in Vichy with six teams taking part. The sport spread to the south of France with the establishment of teams from Perpignan, Cahors, and Montauban in 2004, In the 2011–12 season, six teams competed in the Championship and six more took part in development tournaments. The following season there were four teams in the Elite 1 competition and six in Elite 2. In the 2013–14 season this was restructured as a single Championship of ten teams, but the growth of the sport meant that the following season there were 15 teams divided between Elite 1 and 2 as well as several reserve teams. In the 2023–24 season, the Elite 1 had six teams below which were the Elite 2 and National divisions. The season was also the first for which French Rugby League Federation used the name
Para Rugby XIII rather than (XIII Wheelchair) for the sport. ==Format==