François Marque (born 31 July 1983) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Swiss club FC Stade-Payerne. Football career Marque was born in Troyes. He started his career in his native France with amateur club RCS La Chapelle in 2002 where he played 55 games over the course of two seasons. His good performances there caught the eye of Ligue 2 club FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin for whom he signed for in 2004. Marque did not play any games there and left after just one season to join Swiss Challenge League side FC Baulmes in 2005. He impressed at Baulmes and gathered interest from several Swiss Super League teams. On 12 November 2006 Baulmes played in the Swiss Cup third round against Basel, who needed extra time to win the match 3–2 and proceed to the next round. Therefore, Basel were also one of the clubs who showed an interest in the centre back. After much speculation about his future Marque joined FC Basel in January 2007. At first, on 24. January, he signed a contract that was valid from July 2007 until 30 June 2010. But then Bruno Berner transferred out from Basel, to Blackburn Rovers for a nominal fee, and this move required an immediate replacement. So, in agreement with FC Baulmes, FCB made use of their opportunity to take over the defender with an immediate effect. A corresponding agreement with all parties was reached on 30 January, which meant that Marque was immediately available. He joined Basel's first team during the winter break of their 2007–08 season under head coach Christian Gross. During his first six months with the club, Marque played just two league and one cup games. He played his league debut with the team in the away game in the Hardturm on 4 March as Basel won 5–1 against Grasshopper Club coming on as substitute for Scott Chipperfield. Basel ended the league season as runners-up and the Swiss Cup as winners. Marque played the full 90 minutes in the semi-final against Wil but was on the bench during the final. During the 2007–08 season Marque progressed and formed an effective central defensive partnership with Sweden international Daniel Majstorović and this saw him become a first-team regular. Basel played in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. Winning both matches in the qualification and both matches in the play-off round, they ended the group stage undefeated