Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the French translation of the category-rating-10 used for assessing perceived exertion (RPE) when monitoring training loads. Methods: Fifty athletes from individual (Taekwondo) and team sports (soccer) volunteered. Two forward translations, a reconciled version, and then a back-translation were completed to validate the final French version. French Session-RPE, heart rate, and duration were recorded for 622 training sessions. Results: The comparability of language and similarity of interpretability using a Likert scale were 2 and 1, respectively. A high Cronbach's a coefficient (a = 0.77) was found. The intraclass correlation coefficient of session-RPE was 0.77. High correlations were determined between the session-RPE and HR-based methods during training sessions. The effect size was 0.97. Conclusion: When monitoring training load, the French version of category-rating-10 exhibits similar reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change as the English version.
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