His early career was spent in France with the Breton clubs Stade Brestois and En Avant Guingamp before moving to AJ Auxerre, where he won Division 1 in 1996.
He played for the club as they won a double of Ligue 1 and Coupe de France in 1995–96, under manager Guy Roux, but only scored three goals in 23 league appearances.
In the second round against OFI Crete of Greece, he scored twice in the home leg in a 3–1 victory (Antoine Sibierski got the other goal) and once in the second in a 3–2 defeat (5–4 on aggregate).
[5] He played only four league games,[6] despite scoring on his debut against Liverpool,[7] and then was sold to Rangers for £3.5m on 6 November 1998 by new manager Ruud Gullit.
[citation needed] Guivarc'h made 14 appearances for France between 1997 and 1999; his only international goal came on his debut, in a 2–1 home victory in a friendly against South Africa on 11 October 1997.
[12][13][citation needed] As a result of his domestic goalscoring record Guivarc'h was selected as the lone striker in the World Cup winning France team of 1998, with the tournament being held on home soil.
[19] In the Last 16 against Paraguay he was substituted on in the 76th minute for his Auxerre teammate Bernard Diomede; France would go on to win the match 1–0 after extra-time with a Golden goal from Laurent Blanc.
[20] Guivarc'h was yellow carded in the quarter-final against Italy and substituted in the 65th minute along with Christian Karembeu for Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet; France would win the match on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra-time.
[25] Despite the criticism, France's World Cup-winning manager Aimé Jacquet supported Guivarc'h's performances for his ability to contribute as a pivot despite not scoring in the tournament.