The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history of the tournament (the first was in 1938), defeating Morocco in the bidding process.

France was awarded the 1998 World Cup on 2 July 1992 by the executive committee of FIFA during a general meeting in Zürich, Switzerland.

On 4 June 2015, while co-operating with the FBI and the Swiss authorities, Chuck Blazer confirmed that he and other members of FIFA's executive committee were bribed during the 1998 and 2010 World Cups host selection process.

[4][5][6] The qualification draw for the 1998 World Cup finals took place in the Musée du Louvre, Paris on 12 December 1995.

[12] When the finals were originally awarded in July 1992, none of the regional club grounds were of a capacity meeting FIFA's requirements – namely being able to safely seat 40,000.

[13] As Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac successfully negotiated a deal with Prime Minister Édouard Balladur to bring the Stade de France, as it was now called, to the commune of Saint-Denis just north of the capital city.

[15] FIFA and CFO monitored the progress and quality of preparations, culminating in the former providing final checks of the grounds weeks before the tournament commenced.

The local city and regional authorities in particular had invested heavily into football the previous two decades and were able to measure economic effects, in terms of jobs as early as in 1997.

[17] This was the first World Cup since the introduction of golden goals,[17] banning of tackles from behind that endanger the safety of an opponent[18] and allowance of three substitutions per game.

The draw was conducted by at the time FIFA general secretary Joseph Blatter and many celebrities helped with the draw such as former players as Franz Beckenbauer, George Weah, Jean-Pierre Papin, Raymond Kopa, Georges Carnus and women's football player Mia Hamm.

The historic tradition to seed the hosts (France) and holders (Brazil) was upheld; while the remaining six seeds were granted for the other top7-ranked teams, based on their results obtained in the last three FIFA World Cups (ratio 3:2:1, counting in total 60%) and their FIFA World Ranking position in the last month of the past three years (equal ratio, counting in total 40%).

[23] For the first time in history, the draw event took place in a football stadium, with 38,000 spectators and an estimated 1 billion TV viewers.

Teams were drawn by football legends Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto Parreira, George Weah and Raymond Kopa.

The fixtures for the group stage were decided based on the draw results, as follows: As with the preceding tournament, each team's squad for the 1998 World Cup finals consisted of 22 players.

Scotland managed only one point, coming in a 1–1 draw against Norway, and failed to get out of the first round for an eighth time in the FIFA World Cup, a record that stands to this date.

France, the host nation, swept Group C when the start of their path to their first FIFA World Cup trophy culminated with their 2–1 win over Denmark, who despite their loss, progressed to the second round.

France defeated holders Brazil 3–0, with two goals from Zinedine Zidane and a stoppage time strike from Emmanuel Petit.

[33] The pre-match build up was dominated by the omission of Brazilian striker Ronaldo from the starting lineup only to be reinstated 45 minutes before kick-off.

[34] He managed to create the first open chance for Brazil in the 22nd minute, dribbling past defender Thuram before sending a cross out on the left side that goalkeeper Fabien Barthez struggled to hold onto.

France however took the lead after Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos conceded a corner from which Zidane scored via a header.

[36] Several days after the victory, winning manager Aimé Jacquet announced his resignation from the French team with immediate effect.

[39] Fabien Barthez José Luis Chilavert Roberto Carlos Marcel Desailly Lilian Thuram Frank de Boer Carlos Gamarra Dunga Rivaldo Michael Laudrup Zinedine Zidane Edgar Davids Ronaldo Davor Šuker Brian Laudrup Dennis Bergkamp After the tournament, FIFA published a ranking of all teams that competed in the 1998 World Cup finals based on progress in the competition and overall results.

[44][45] The absence of Budweiser on pitch side advertising hoardings is notable due to the Evin law, which forbids alcohol-related sponsorship in France, including in sports events.

It was the first international football game developed by Electronic Arts since obtaining the rights from FIFA in 1997 and received mostly favourable reviews.

[73] Research carried out about the choice of having a cockerel as a mascot was greatly received: 91% associated it immediately with France, the traditional symbol of the nation.

[72] Footix, the name chosen by French television viewers, is a portmanteau of "football" and the ending "-ix" from the popular Astérix comic strip.

The official match ball for the 1998 World Cup, manufactured by Adidas was named the Tricolore, meaning 'three-coloured' in French.

[74] It was the eighth World Cup match ball made for the tournament by the German company and was the first in the series to be multi-coloured.

[76][77] The official anthem was "La Cour des Grands (Do You Mind If I Play)" by Youssou N'Dour and Axelle Red.

[79] Cour des Comptes, the quasi-judicial body of the French government, released its report on the organisation of the 1998 World Cup in 2000.