Normally, the bottom two teams are relegated. However, on 1 April 2010, the LNR's financial watchdog, DNACG, called Bourgoin, Montauban, and Stade Français for a financial review. No action was taken against Bourgoin or Stade Français, but DNACG announced that Montauban would be relegated because the club could not assure that they could clear their €1.7 million financial shortfall, which reportedly stemmed from a loan the club took out to improve their ground, Stade Sapiac. Montauban could have appealed at the next DNACG meeting on 4 May 2010, but the club wound up filing for bankruptcy on 26 April 2010. The bankruptcy filing confirmed their relegation from the Top 14. They could potentially have been relegated to Fédérale 3, the fifth level of the French rugby pyramid, but ultimately were relegated to the third-level Fédérale 1. These developments meant that Bayonne, who finished second from bottom, escaped the drop. Bankruptcy Fillings
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