Les Bleues have finished second in the Championship in each of the last four years, and will want to hit the ground running against Ireland.
Under Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz, France went four from four last year before being beaten 38-33 by England in front of a world record crowd at Twickenham in the Grand Slam decider.
They followed that up with a win over the Black Ferns in New Zealand in WXV, but then were beaten by both Australia and Canada.
They welcome an Ireland team who built confidence in WXV, winning the third division under new coach Scott Bemand.
Team news
Mignot and Ortiz have put their faith in youth for this opening fixture, with 24-year-old Manae Feleu captaining the side as she did in WXV.
There are three teenagers in the matchday 23, with 18-year-old Kelly Arbey set for her first cap on the wing, while uncapped 19-year-old Lina Tuy provides fly-half cover on the bench.
No player is older than 28, but there is experience in the back five of the back with Madoussou Fall and Romane Ménager back, while former skipper Gaëlle Hermet will look to build on a strong performance in last year’s campaign.
Pauline Bourdon Sansus will start at scrum-half alongside Lina Queyroi, with Caroline Drouin ruled out of the tournament through injury.
Ireland welcome back some of their sevens stars who helped them to book a place at the Paris Olympics this summer.
That means an exciting backline featuring Beibhinn Parsons on the wing and Eve Higgins at outside centre, while uncapped Katie Corrigan starts opposite Parsons.
Up front, Edel McMahon will captain the side following Nichola Fryday’s international retirement.
Key battle – Second row
In Manae Feleu and Madoussou Fall, France have one of the more imposing and dynamic second-row pairings in the competition, and the duo will have a big role to play in Le Mans.
Feleu first took over the captaincy in New Zealand last year, leading the side to a win over the world champions in her first game.
She joins forces with Fall, who missed the whole of last year’s Championship, having been one of the stars for France a year later.
Up against them, Ireland have Dorothy Wall, now looking comfortable at lock having first broken into the side as a back-rower.
She is joined by Hannah O’Connor in the absence of co-captain Sam Monaghan. Not initially named in Ireland’s squad, O’Connor has forced her way in with some strong performances in training, earning praise from Ireland senior coach John McKee.
What they said
France scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus: “We can see that women’s rugby is developing everywhere so we need to start the tournament well. Ireland won WXV 3, so they are improving. We expect them to be very aggressive. We play a lot so teams know they need to put us under pressure to make things hard for us.”
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand: “We are all very excited to get our Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign under way and we come into this weekend ready to put a confident performance out there.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the hard work come together on Saturday and what a place to kick start our Six Nations, in Stade Marie-Marvingt.”
Stat attack
France have won eight of their last nine Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches against Ireland, a 13-10 victory for the Irish in the 2017, the only exception in this run.
France have won all ten of their home games against Ireland in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, scoring 82 points and conceding just 11 in the last three such clashes.
Since Italy joined the Guinness Women’s Six Nations in 2007, France have won 35 of their 40 home games in the Championship, with England (5 wins) the only team to beat them.
Ireland’s Neve Jones completed the most tackles of any player in the 2023 Guinness Women’s Six Nations (90), she missed just two of her 92 tackle attempts with her 98% success rate the highest among all 42 players to attempt 50+ tackles.
Fantasy watch
Available for just 12 stars, Kelly Arbey and Assia Khalfaoui are very different players. The former is just 18 but already starting week in, week out on the wing for high-flying Toulouse.
She has five tries in Elite 1 this campaign and could be great value. Tighthead prop Khalfaoui already has six tries for champions Stade Bordelais, and her carrying in the tight will make her a danger whenever France are close to the line.
For those after a Supersub, Morgane Bourgeois, on the bench, is a fantastic goal-kicker and very versatile, meaning that she could make a difference if she is called upon.
At just 14 stars, Beibhinn Parsons looks an absolute steal – she was tearing things up in this Championship before turning her attentions to sevens, and will pose a huge threat out wide.
Meanwhile, for 12 stars, Dorothy Wall’s work-rate means that she will rack up the points and again could provide great value.
Teams
France: 15 Emilie Boulard, 14 Kelly Arbey, 13 Nassira Kondé, 12 Gabrielle Vernier, 11 Marine Ménager, 10 Lina Queyroi, 9 Pauline Bourdon Sansus, 1 Annaëlle Deshaye, 2 Agathe Sochat, 3 Assia Khalfaoui, 4 Manae Feleu (c), 5 Madoussou Fall, 6 Charlotte Escudero, 7 Gaëlle Hermet, 8 Romane Ménager.
Replacements: 16 Elisa Riffoneau, 17 Ambre Mwayembe, 18 Clara Joyeux, 19 Kiara Zago, 20 Emeline Gros, 21 Alexandra Chambon, 22 Lina Tuy, 23 Morgane Bourgeois
Ireland: 15 Lauren Delany, 14 Katie Corrigan, 13 Eve Higgins, 12 Aoife Dalton, 11 Beibhinn Parsons, 10 Nicole Fowley, 9 Aiobheann Reilly, 1 Linda Djougang, 2 Neve Jones, 3 Christy Haney, 4 Dorothy Wall, 5 Hannah O’Connor, 6 Aoife Wafer, 7 Edel McMahon (c), 8 Brittany Hogan
Replacements: 16 Sarah Delaney, 17 Niamh O’Dowd, 18 Sadbh McGrath, 19 Fiona Tuite, 20 Grace Moore, 21 Molly Scuffil McCabe, 22 Dannah O’Brien, 23 Meabh Deely
