The team's colours and imagery reference two national symbols: the French blue-white-red tricolour and Gallic rooster (coq gaulois).

They play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and train at Centre National du Football in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines.

During the captaincy of Didier Deschamps, with Zinedine Zidane being the star player, Les Bleus won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

France's first 'Golden Generation' in the late 1950s comprised players such as Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa, Jean Vincent, Robert Jonquet, Maryan Wisnieski, Thadée Cisowski, and Armand Penverne.

The team returned to major international play with qualification for the 1966 World Cup, but did not make it past the group stage phase of the tournament.

Louis Dugauguez succeeded Fontaine and following his early struggles in qualification for the 1970 World Cup, was fired and replaced by Georges Boulogne, who could not get the team to the competition.

Under Hidalgo, France flourished, mainly due to the accolades of great players like defenders Marius Trésor and Maxime Bossis, striker Dominique Rocheteau and midfielder Michel Platini, who, alongside Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Luis Fernández formed the "carré magique" ("Magic Square"), which would haunt opposing defenses beginning at the 1982 World Cup, where France reached the semi-finals losing on penalties to rivals West Germany.

France subsequently won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics football tournament and, a year later, defeated Uruguay 2–0 to win the Artemio Franchi Trophy, an early precursor to the FIFA Confederations Cup.

[23] The subsequent blame and public outcry led to the firing of Houllier and departure of several players, from the national team fold.

[26] After this period of achievement, France were much less successful in subsequent tournaments, and failed to make it past the group stage at the 2002 World Cup.

Zinedine Zidane had given France an early lead through a Panenka penalty which hit the crossbar before bouncing past the goal line, however Italy defender Marco Materazzi equalised from a header 7 minutes later.

France eventually finished second in the group and earned a spot in the UEFA play-offs against the Republic of Ireland for a place in South Africa.

[36][37][38] In response to the training boycott, Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot lectured the players and "reduced France's disgraced World Cup stars to tears with an emotional speech on the eve of their final group A match".

[47][48] Following the tournament, coach Laurent Blanc resigned and was succeeded by Didier Deschamps, who captained France to glory in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

[51] At the 2014 World Cup, France lost to eventual champions Germany in the quarter-finals courtesy of an early goal by Mats Hummels.

[58] They subsequently defeated Argentina 4–3 in a thrilling match in the round of 16 and then Uruguay 2–0 to qualify for the semi-final stage, where they beat Belgium 1–0 courtesy of a goal from defender Samuel Umtiti.

[65] After finishing top of their group, France did manage to reach a second successive World Cup final, defeating Poland, England and Morocco in the knockout stages.

[70] During France's early years, the team's national stadium alternated between the Parc des Princes in Paris and the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes.

Following the renovation of the Parc des Princes in 1972, which gave the stadium the largest capacity in Paris, France moved into the venue permanently.

France have played home matches in a French overseas department twice – in 2005 against Costa Rica in Fort-de-France (Martinique) and in 2010 against China in Saint Pierre (Réunion).

In the 20th and 23rd minute of an international friendly on 13 November 2015, against Germany, three groups of terrorists attempted to detonate bomb vests, at three entrances of Stade de France, and two explosions occurred.

The new deal grants the channel exclusive broadcast rights for the matches of national team, which include friendlies and international games for the next four seasons beginning in August 2010 and ending in June 2014.

In a 1978 World Cup match against Hungary in Mar del Plata, both teams arrived at Estadio José María Minella with white kits, so France played in green-and-white striped shirts borrowed from Club Atlético Kimberley.

The deal was valued at €320 million over seven years (1 January 2011 – 9 July 2018), making France's blue shirt the most expensive sponsorship in the history of football.

[79][80] The first France kit worn in a major tournament produced by Nike was the Euro 2012 strip, which was all dark blue and used gold as an accent colour.

However, due to UEFA regulations, France was forced to wear a modified version with the sleeve colours almost desaturated in their Euro 2016 group stage game against Switzerland, which continued to be worn during 2018 World Cup qualifying.

During the 1980s, France earned the nickname the "Brazilians of Europe" mainly due to the accolades of the "carré magique" ("Magic Square"), who were anchored by Michel Platini.

Led by coach Michel Hidalgo, France exhibited an inspiring, elegant, skillful and technically advanced offensive style of football, which was strikingly similar to their South American counterparts.

Their defence played a vital role in winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup and had earned them the title of "Mur de fer" ("The Iron Wall").

Win Draw Loss Fixture The following players were called up for 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Italy on 14 and 17 November 2024, respectively.