$re = '/(?<![=|\|]) *(?:\{\{)*(\d+)(?:(?:\{\{)*(er)(?:\}\})*)* *(janvier|f[ée]vrier|mars|avril|mai|juin|juillet|a[ôo][ûu]t|septembre|octobre|novembre|d[ée]cembre) *(\d{3,4})/mi';
$str = ' 1er mars 2020
{{1er}} mars 2020
1{{er}} mars 2020
1 mars 2020
20 mars 2020
I don\'t want these ones:
date= 20 Mars 2025
date=20 Mars 2025
{{date|20 aout 2020}}
{{date| 20 aout 2020}}';
$subst = "{{date|$1$2 $3 $4}}";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php