That was despite the hosts struggling at the set-piece following the early loss of Tevita Tatafu to injury, with New Zealand ahead at half time following tries from Peter Lakai and Cam Roigard despite a fine debut score from Romain Buros.
Les Bleus turned things around superbly within the opening 10 minutes of the second half with tries from Paul Boudehent and Louis Bielle-Biarrey stunning the All Blacks who themselves were gunning for a third successive win in November.
France’s seven-point lead was cut to just one after two Damian McKenzie penalties but France held out for victory amid a tense and frenetic finale.
ALL BLACKS BATTLE TO HALF-TIME LEAD
Thomas Ramos belted the first points of the game from inside his own half after just six minutes, issuing a warning sign to New Zealand that any misdemeanours would be punished to maximum effect.
The All Blacks responded smartly though and scored a fine team score to hit the front just a few minutes later.
A long, looping pass by Roigard was nearly intercepted by Gabin Villiere but instead found the hands of Ardie Savea, who rampaged down the touchline before the ball came inside to Lakai.
The flanker was an early replacement for the injured Samipeni Finau and made an immediate impact, bouncing off several broken tackles to score.
A stroke of good fortune then paved the way for scrum-half Roigard to score New Zealand’s second try on 26 minutes.
The France scrum was put under severe pressure on the edge of their own 22 and despite Gregory Alldritt managing to pick from the base of the scrum, his intended pass for Antoine Dupont stuck in the hands of Roigard who sprinted over untouched.
There was nothing fortuitous about France’s reply, as debutant Buros became an instant hit with the Stade de France spectators.
After a number of phases for the forwards, Dupont sent it into the hands of the backs and the full-back powered over despite the best efforts of Sevu Reece.
Beauden Barrett kicked a penalty to push New Zealand seven points ahead and that was how it remained at half time after the talismanic fly-half missed a drop goal attempt with the final act of the first 40.
RAPID TURNAROUND SETS UP STUNNING FRANCE WIN
France made the perfect start to the second half, executing a close-range line-out to perfection with Boudehent the man to dot down before Ramos added the extras to bring France level.
The turnaround was complete on the 50-minute mark, with Ramos kicking ahead and Bielle-Biarrey sprinting clear to send France into a seven-point lead.
New Zealand needed to stem the tide and registered the first points of the second half with a penalty from McKenzie soon after his introduction to the field before Ramos restored a seven-point gap.
Momentum swung one way and then the other in the final quarter, with New Zealand first to strike, closing the gap to within a point after two McKenzie penalties.
It was then Ramos’ turn before McKenzie set up a thrilling final five minutes with another three-pointer.
New Zealand gave it everything in their quest to avoid a first defeat of their northern hemisphere tour but Will Jordan was held up inside his own 22 as New Zealand sought to go coast to coast with the clock in the red, leaving France to revel in their first treble over the All Blacks for 29 years.
