Fédérale 3 is the seventh division of rugby union in France. The competition involves 160 clubs that are divided into 16 pools of 10. 16 teams earn promotion to the higher division of competition, Fédérale 2. Above the Fédérale divisions are the Nationale leagues, Nationale and Nationale 2. The two highest professional leagues are, Pro D2 and Top 14, which is the highest of the two.
For a long time, the championship constituted the 3rd tier of rugby union in France, the last national championship before regional competitions. With the various reforms due to professionalisation at the end of the 1990s (the 1st division decreased from 40 teams in 1990 to 16 teams in 2001) various intermediate levels called Nationale 1 and 2, then Fédérale 1 and 2 pushed the championship to the 7th tier.
The competition has had different names and levels over the years:
The teams are divided into 16 groups of 10 clubs, they are organized by geographical area. The teams in each group play each other in home and away matches.
At the end of the regular season, the top three teams from each group advance to the round of 32, while the fourth and fifth placed teams compete in a single-elimination playoff.
The eight teams that qualified for the quarter-finals are promoted to Fédérale 2, while the teams ranked ninth and tenth in each group are relegated to Régionale 1.