Second-half goals from Karim Benzema and Florent Malouda earned France some relief from their recent woes as they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina in their Euro 2012 Group D qualifier.
France began the game under intense pressure to secure a result after they followed their disastrous World Cup with a 1-0 home defeat against Belarus on Friday to begin their European qualification campaign.
New coach Laurent Blanc looked like he would have to wait longer for his first competitive win as time ticked down before Benzema latched onto a Gael Clichy assist to score a much-anticipated opener after 72 minutes.
Malouda then sealed the victory six minutes later when he stroked home a second.