France are refusing to accept the favourites' tag heading into Sunday's crunch RBS 6 Nations clash with England at Twickenham.
While Les Bleus go into the match with a settled look to their side, the world champions are in a state of disarray, new coach Brian Ashton having made 11 changes - three of them positional - to his line-up.
The statistics do not read well for England either. They have lost their last three Six Nations games against the French, and are also smarting from a 43-13 thrashing by Ireland last month.
But Les Bleus, who have won all three of their matches in this year's Six Nations, are warning against complacency this weekend, insisting the match is very much in the balance.
Scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili, who has been recalled in place of Pierre Mignoni for the encounter, said: 'I think it's easy to say we are favourites, because they conceded 40 points against Ireland.
'I was surprised to hear about the changes in their side but they will want to prove themselves. And they are playing at home.'
Head coach Bernard Laporte added: 'This is going to be the hardest match of the year, at least of the Six Nations. That is clear in our heads. There are new players and changes in this England team. They are certainly better than those from before who didn't win.
'They must perform now. They will be looking for revenge, with players who are going to want to impose themselves six months ahead of the World Cup.'
Yachvili is one of three changes made by France to the team that beat Wales 32-21 last time out.
The others see number eight Sebastien Chabal and prop Pieter De Villiers come into the pack, in place of Elvis Vermeulen and Nicolas Mas respectively.
Yachvili and Chabal are well known to English audiences. The former has been the scourge of the world champions for the past three years in the Six Nations, while the latter is a larger-than-life character who was one of the inspirations behind Sale Sharks' run to the Guinness Premiership title last season.
'I have played well against England in the past three years,' Yachvili told PA Sport, referring to his 19, 18 and 16-point hauls for Les Bleus in their back-to-back win over the English since 2004.
'But so has the France team and that is the most important thing. We hope to do it again, but we have to respect the English team and we know it will be difficult on Sunday.
'I am happy to have been named in the side. I have been a replacement for the first three games but I am making my return in a big match.'
Chabal, meanwhile, returns to the back row after missing the Wales win because of a leg injury.
'Sebastien plays his club rugby in England,' said Laporte. 'He has had his problems at international level but he proved against Italy and Ireland he had made a lot of progress. This selection is the results of his efforts. We'll need his power against England.'
