the time by Philippe Hinschberger. Niort were new arrivals to Ligue 2, having won promotion via the Championnat National the previous season. Gonzalez made his competitive debut for the side on 28 July 2006 in the 1–1 draw with AC Ajaccio and started each of the club's first 13 games of the season. He scored his first Niort goal in the 2–2 draw against SM Caen on 15 September. He kept his place in the team and netted his second goal for the club two months later in the 2–0 win over LB Châteauroux. On 9 February 2007, Gonzalez scored the winner after coming on as a substitute in the 3–2 win against Stade de Reims. He ended the season with three goals in seven matches as Niort finished 16th in the division to secure their Ligue 2 status for another season. In his first season with Niort, Gonzalez had scored six goals in 33 games, his highest number of goals in a season at the time. Gonzalez retained his place in the Niort first-team for the start of the 2007–08 season. He scored the only goal of the match in the 1–0 win against Montpellier on 24 August 2007. However, he suffered two broken ribs in the match and had to be replaced by Djibril Konaté at half time. The injury forced him to spend more than two months out of the side, returning to the team for the 0–1 loss to Clermont Foot on 2 November. Gonzalez scored only once between November 2007 and May 2008 as Niort struggled in the league, occupying a relegation place for some part of the season. He netted his first goal in over eight months when he scored the third in a 3–0 win against Dijon on 2 May 2008. He was on the scoresheet again in the following match, opening the scoring in the 2–0 victory over Ajaccio. Niort entered the final match of the season against US Boulogne requiring a win or a draw to avoid relegation. Gonzalez was booked in the game and replaced by Benoît Leroy in the 68th minute while the match was still goalless. The team appeared to have done enough, but Boulogne scored in the third minute of injury time to relegate Niort to the Championnat National, meaning that Gonzalez would play in the third tier of French football for the first time in his