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Marcoussis - France coach Marc Lievremont made five changes to the side that was humiliated by Italy as he tries to make amends against Wales in their final Six Nations match at the Stade de France Saturday.
Lievremont lashed out at his players following last week's 22-21 defeat in Rome, saying he was "ashamed" by their performance and vowing that some big names would never wear the France jersey again.
Ahead of a match the French will be expected to win - and instill some degree of hope six months before the World Cup kicks off in New Zealand - the former international has taken his tone down a notch.
"I regret some of the things I said on Sunday, when I said that some players had probably played their last match for France," Lievremont said after announcing his team on Tuesday.
"It was clumsy of me, although I still maintain that changes have to be made."
Lievremont has notably brought in Biarritz's Damien Traille and David Marty, of Perpignan, at centre, with Brive's Alexis Palisson coming in on the left wing.
After coming on as a replacement in Rome, Biarritz's Imanol Harinordoquy starts in the middle of the third row at number eight between Julien Bonnaire and captain Thierry Dusautoir, replacing Sebastian Chabal. Thomas Domingo, who watched France come apart from the sidelines in Rome as 23rd man, replaces Sylvain Marconnet.
Traille and Marty are direct replacements for Yannick Jauzion and Aurelien Rougerie, who are among six players singled out for particular criticism by Lievremont after the capitulation to Italy. Marty, 28, will start for the first time since the first test match against Fiji last November.
Chabal and Marconnet join Jauzion and Rougerie on the absentee list for Wales.
Palisson's last Six Nations outing was as a replacement when France suffered defeat in England, and on that occasion he had been called up at the 11th hour as an injury replacement for fullback Maxime Medard. This time he replaces Yoann Huget on the left wing, with Vincent Clerc on the opposite side of the park.
Lievremont kept faith with the rest of the team which played so poorly in Rome.
Second row pair Julien Pierre and Lionel Nallet, third row forwards Bonnaire and Dusautoir, half-back pairing Morgan Parra and Francois Trinh-Duc and fullback Medard all get a chance to make amends.
France team for Wales (15-1)
Maxime Medard (Toulouse); Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), David Marty (Perpignan), Damien Traille (Biarritz), Alexis Palisson (Brive); Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Morgan Parra (Clermont); Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse, cap.); Lionel Nallet (Racing-Metro), Julien Pierre (Clermont); Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), William Servat (Toulouse), Thomas Domingo (Clermont)
Replacements: Guilhem Guirado (Perpignan), Luc Ducalcon (Castres), Pascal Pape (Stade Francais), Alexandre Lapandry (Clermont), Julien Tomas (Montpellier), Fabrice Estebanez (Brive), Yoann Huget (Bayonne)
