Ireland's Grand Slam bid was left in ruins at Lansdowne Road this afternoon as France weathered a late fightback to cling onto a 19-26 victory.
After wins over Italy, Scotland and England, the home team came into the match as favourites to beat a French side who had lost to Wales last time out.
But the visitors were plainly superior and, despite a ferocious second-half fight back from the Irish, galloped to a victory which could yet see them crowned RBS 6 Nations champions.
The day marked a special occasion for inspirational Les Bleus skipper Fabien Pelous who joined an elite band by becoming only the fifth player in rugby history to make 100 Test appearances.
France chose to play against a strong wind in the first half and they created a great chance in the third minute when Yannick Jauzion fed Julien Laharrague but the Brive full-back's pass was gobbled up by Hickie with the line just 10 yards away.
Punches were thrown at the first scrum shortly after but Ireland claimed a moral victory once tempers had softened by winning a free-kick which they used to probe away at the French defence.
They failed to make any meaningful inroads but won a penalty which Ronan O'Gara sent between the uprights, although the lead lasted until the 11th minute when Yann Delaigue landed a drop goal.
Referee Tony Spreadbury spotted a high tackle on Brian O'Driscoll and O'Gara slotted the three points, but a penalty from scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili levelled matters once again.
O'Gara missed a penalty but readjusted his sights in the 25th minute and nudged over a tricky long-range effort. The score drew a swift response from France who threatened down the right until Girvan Dempsey knocked on a pass meant for Laharrague, conceding a scrum which Les Bleus used to fashion a try for Christophe Dominici.
Delaigue fired a beautifully-timed pass to right wing Cedric Heymans who had drifted into midfield and the Toulouse flyer drew his marker before sending Dominici over.
Hickie failed miserably with his attempted tackle on Dominici and it was poor defending which allowed France in for their second try in the 33rd minute.
Les Bleus won clean possession, the increasingly impressive Delaigue offloaded to Baby and the little centre went on an arcing run between Maggs and Dempsey which carried him over the line. Yachvili slotted the conversion.
Ireland turned the pressure on France after the break and they were rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts after Baby had appeared to punch O'Driscoll and O'Gara made no mistake in slashing the deficit to six points.
With the wind in their faces, Ireland were finding it difficult to get out of their own half and when they did manage it in the 59th minute they knocked on through Murphy, before conceding a penalty which Yachvili potted.
Ireland stepped up a gear in the final quarter as the balance of power shifted in their favour and it was O'Driscoll who hauled his side back into the match with a try out of nothing.
He blasted through a busy midfield, shrugging off one tackle, and found himself in space with only Laharrague to beat - a task he managed with a sweet side step which carried him under the posts, making it a simple conversion for O'Gara.
But Ireland were caught out by their own ambition as they tried to break from close to their own line in search of the winning score, losing the ball in a dangerous position.
No one was at home on the blind side and prop Sylvain Marconnet had the time to feed Dominici who strolled over for the winning score.
