France captain Hugo Lloris says Portugal deserved to win Euro 2016 despite playing defensively throughout the tournament.
Portugal won their first major trophy in Paris on Sunday, beating the hosts 1-0 thanks to substitute Eder's 25-yard strike in extra-time.
Fernando Santos' side won just one of their seven matches in 90 minutes in France -- the 2-0 semifinal win over Wales -- and only qualified for the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams after three draws in the group stage.
They beat Croatia 1-0 in extra-time in the round of 16 and Poland on penalties in the quarterfinals after a 1-1 draw, and are the first team to go to extra-time three times at a European Championship.
Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris tried to take the positives from defeat on home soil but admitted the Portuguese deserved to be victors.
"It's part of football," Lloris told L'Equipe. "Portugal should be congratulated even if they didn't necessarily produce great football. They had the virtue of being strong mentally throughout the whole tournament. They showed a lot of resources.
"From our end, it was a very, very positive experience. We are all disappointed, distraught to have not won the trophy, but we can build on what we have done in the coming years."
France was stunned by the terror attacks in Paris last November, while civil unrest and industrial action have caused mayhem in the urban centres.
Before the match, Lloris said the team hoped to unite the nation with a victory, and he insisted afterwards that the team had still made the country "proud" despite losing.
"We failed to be realistic," Lloris said. "We lacked a bit of luck. When we hit the post in the 92nd minute, that is football, sometimes it is cruel.
"It is important to deal with this well. The feelings are full of sadness, it is like that. We have to keep our heads high, we have done great things during this tournament, we made many French people very proud. That is what is most important.
"But when you are competitors, we are not accepting this defeat well, especially when it happens in a way that it did tonight. We have to learn from this and continue to advance."