France have lost flying winger Damian Penaud to injury for their Six Nations clash against Wales, adding to a list of key players unavailable for the tournament opener at the Stade de France on Friday (8.15pm).
Penaud had been expected to return to the team but suffered a toe injury in training and Theo Attissogbe will line up on the wing instead in the team announced on Wednesday.
France are already without veteran centre Gael Fickou, lock Thibaud Flament and loose forward Charles Ollivon, with coach Fabien Galthie making five changes in total from their last outing in November when they beat Argentina 37-23 in Paris.
Romain Ntamack is back at fly-half, which pushes Thomas Ramos to full-back in place of Leo Barre while Pierre-Louis Barassi replaces Fickou in the midfield and Attissogbe takes Gabin Villiere's place on the wing.
Former captain Gregory Alldritt returns to the back of the pack in place of Ollivon after being dropped ahead of the win over Argentina while Alexandre Roumat is in for Flament.
On the bench, Galthie has included Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, who debuted in Argentina last year but were then arrested on rape charges that were later dropped.
Wales have been boosted by the return of wing Josh Adams, full-back Liam Williams and lock Dafydd Jenkins, with Ben Thomas to lead the backline from the fly-half position.
The experienced Adams and Williams missed much of last season with injury as Wales seek to end a dismal team record run of 12 defeats in a row dating back to the 2023 Rugby World Cup that has put coach Warren Gatland's position under the spotlight.
Wing Tom Rogers makes up the remainder of the back three, with Owen Watkin and Nick Tompkins the centre-pairing.
Scrum-half Tomos Williams will be alongside Thomas, the latter picked due to an injury to Sam Costelow and the desire to look at other options beyond Gareth Anscombe.
The side will be captained by Jac Morgan, who has James Botham and number eight Aaron Wainwright with him at the back of the scrum.
Will Rowlands and Jenkins are the lock pairing and hooker Evan Lloyd is joined by props Gareth Thomas and Henry Thomas in the front row.
"We’re excited for the challenge on Friday. The Six Nations is the best rugby competition in the world," Gatland said. "Every game is a big occasion. We want to go out there, embrace that and start our championship well."
France: Leo Barre; Theo Attissogbe, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont (capt); Jean-Baptiste Gros., Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio; Alexandre Roumat, Emmanuel Meafou; Francois Cros, Paul Boudehent, Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Georges-Henri Colombe, Hugo Auradou, Mickel Guillard, Oscar Jegou, Nolann Le Garrec, Emilien Gailleton.
Wales: Liam Williams; Tom Rogers, Nick Tompkins, Owen Watkin, Josh Adams; Ben Thomas, Tomos Williams; Gareth Thomas, Evan Lloyd, Henry Thomas; Will Rowlands, Aaron Wainwright; Dafydd Jenkins, James Botham, Jac Morgan (capt).
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Nicky Smith, Keiron Assiratti, Freddie Thomas, Tommy Reffell, Rhodri Williams, Dan Edwards, Blair Murray.
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