The French media reacted with enthusiasm to their national team maintaining the momentum built at the World Cup by beating Spain on Thursday.
- Laurens: France impressing on the road to Euro 2016
- Corrigan: Spain dominate possession but lack bite
New Chelsea signing Loic Remy came off the bench to score the only goal of the game at the Stade de France as Didier Deschamps' men triumphed 1-0 on their return to action following their quarterfinal exit in Brazil this summer.
Though Deschamps, 45, admitted the performance could have been better, the result was enough to enable Le Parisien to signal a ''Successful return for Les Bleus" on its front page, while they also saw enough to suggest that "The World Cup spirit is still there" after a first win over Spain in eight years.
"Even though a lot of teams beat Spain at the moment, it's no accident," the French capital's premier daily added. "Les Bleus are improving and closing the gap."
RMC declared: "Les Bleus keep their promises," adding: "Serious and seductive, les Bleus confirmed their fine World Cup performances."
The fervency with which the estimated 75,000 greeted their heroes also marked the continuation of the "je t'aime, moi aussi" [I love you too] relationship the squad now has with their followers.
After three years of resentment between squad and spectators following the infamous 2010 World Cup strike, the feeling that the players have now been forgiven -- a sentiment which was first felt at last November's playoff second-leg with Ukraine -- was inescapable.
"These Bleus make us happy," L'Equipe wrote across their front page, explaining the smiles on their compatriots' faces on Friday morning, while also highlighting the individual display of Paul Pogba, who caught the eye with his "impressive technical range."
Speaking to the paper, former Sochaux and Bordeaux coach Francis Gillot claimed Pogba, 21, was just one of a clutch of flourishing talents in Deschamps' squad: "Even if it wasn't a great game, this France team has a lot of potential. As long as they have the desire -- with the talent they have -- they can do a lot of damage."
The French football public will hope they do most of that at Euro 2016 on home soil, a tournament in which many of those who travelled to Brazil and who also participated in the match with Spain -- either on the pitch or from the bench -- will likely feature.
"The win against Spain confirmed to Deschamps that he's on the right track with the squad that he's built over several months," footmercato.net wrote. "He appears to have decided to keep faith in it until Euro 2016."
The reaction in Spain was downbeat, with Marca headlining: "New era stutters for Spain,", adding that "the two-time defending European champions [are] saddled with three defeats in their last four matches [before] their first [Euro 2016] qualifier against Macedonia on Monday."
AS, meanwhile, led with "Spain's new dawn must wait," stating: "Spain have a long road to traipse before they return to paradise. Whether the sun has set on their empire is up for debate, yet they looked a poor spectacle in comparison with an energetic France side."