Nathan Collins was denied a late equaliser by Mike Maignan's stunning saveThe Republic of Ireland made a losing start to Euro 2024 qualifying as Benjamin Pavard's superb second-half goal gave France victory in Dublin.
Having held the French in a first half of few chances, the Republic fell behind five minutes after the restart when Pavard intercepted a Josh Cullen pass and fired past Gavin Bazunu.
The Republic put the beaten World Cup finalists under severe pressure late on but fell short as Mike Maignan's stunning save denied Nathan Collins a late leveller.
The Republic's next qualifier sees them travel to Greece on 16 June.
But while the Irish must wait nearly three months to try and get points on the board, France are already well on their way to qualifying for next year's finals in Germany after backing up their rout of the Netherlands with a narrow win in front of a raucous Dublin crowd.
While Les Bleus blew the Dutch away on Friday with three goals inside the opening 22 minutes, they were gifted the winner at the Aviva Stadium as Pavard punished a sloppy pass in devastating fashion with a brilliant right-footed shot.
From there, many would have expected the French to coast to three points but with Didier Deschamps' side unable to find a second, the Irish pushed for what would have been an impressive point.
And they would have earned a draw had it not been for Maignan, who produced a series of impressive stops to outshine his more illustrious team-mates and leave the Irish frustrated.
Mbappe upstaged by Pavard and Maignan
Mike Maignan missed out on France's World Cup squad through injuryHaving starred on his first outing as France captain with two goals against the Dutch, eyes were naturally drawn to Kylian Mbappe in Dublin.
But while the Paris St-Germain superstar showed flashes of quality, he was upstaged by Bayern Munich right-back Pavard, who slammed a rasping shot in off the underside of Bazunu's crossbar after cutting out Cullen's attempted pass to Jason Knight.
Pavard's goal came after a first half in which France struggled to break down a stubborn home defence and the visitors were further troubled by a spirited Irish side in the closing stages when they had AC Milan goalkeeper Maignan to thank for the win.
The 27-year-old tipped a deflected James McClean effort around the post for a corner and displayed impressive reflexes to stop Jules Kounde heading into his own goal.
But Maignan saved his best for last as at full stretch he got a strong right hand to Collins' top corner-bound header, with the Republic defender's anguish etched on his face as he collapsed to the turf at the full-time whistle.
Given how his side pressed for a goal during a gripping conclusion to the game, Republic boss Stephen Kenny will be disappointed to come away empty-handed but can draw encouragement after watching his players unnerve the team ranked third in the world.
The Irish will now turn their attention to June's two-match window, with Gibraltar to visit Dublin after the Republic's trip to Greece, as they attempt to qualify for their first tournament since Euro 2016.
Line-ups
R. of Ireland
Formation 3-4-2-1
1Bazunu
12Collins5Egan4O'Shea
2Coleman14Molumby6Cullen7Doherty
20Ogbene17Knight
19Ferguson
1Bazunu12Collins5EganBooked at 90mins4O'SheaSubstituted forBrowneat 78'minutes2Coleman14MolumbyBooked at 77minsSubstituted forObafemiat 86'minutes6Cullen7DohertyBooked at 65minsSubstituted forMcCleanat 77'minutes20Ogbene17KnightSubstituted forJohnstonat 77'minutes19FergusonSubstituted forIdahat 65'minutesBooked at 88minsSubstitutes
3Omobamidele8Browne9Obafemi10Idah11McClean13Hendrick15Sykes16Kelleher18McGrath21Smallbone22Johnston23TraversFrance
Formation 4-3-3
16Maignan
2Pavard13Konaté4Upamecano22Hernández
7Griezmann21Camavinga14Rabiot
12Kolo Muani9Giroud10Mbappé
16Maignan2PavardBooked at 22minsSubstituted forKoundéat 81'minutes13Konaté4Upamecano22Hernández7Griezmann21Camavinga14RabiotSubstituted forTchouaméniat 81'minutes12Kolo MuaniSubstituted forThuramat 90+2'minutes9GiroudSubstituted forDiabyat 65'minutes10MbappéSubstitutes
1Samba3Disasi5Koundé6Fofana8Tchouaméni11Thuram15Veretout17Todibo18Thuram19Diaby20Coman23AréolaReferee:Artur Manuel Soares DiasLive Text
Match ends, Republic of Ireland 0, France 1.
Second Half ends, Republic of Ireland 0, France 1.
Marcus Thuram (France) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Josh Cullen (Republic of Ireland).
Eduardo Camavinga (France) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Josh Cullen (Republic of Ireland).
Substitution, France. Marcus Thuram replaces Randal Kolo Muani.
Mike Maignan (France) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adam Idah (Republic of Ireland).
John Egan (Republic of Ireland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Aurélien Tchouaméni (France) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by John Egan (Republic of Ireland).
Attempt saved. Nathan Collins (Republic of Ireland) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner.
Corner, Republic of Ireland. Conceded by Mike Maignan.
Corner, Republic of Ireland. Conceded by Aurélien Tchouaméni.
Attempt missed. Kylian Mbappé (France) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Eduardo Camavinga with a through ball.
Adam Idah (Republic of Ireland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ibrahima Konaté (France) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adam Idah (Republic of Ireland).
Substitution, Republic of Ireland. Michael Obafemi replaces Jayson Molumby.
