But they know all the good work done on Saturday night will go to waste if they go out and lose to Wales in the semifinal next Saturday.
France coach Marc Lievremont was thrilled with the passion and the skills put on display in his side's 19-12 quarterfinal win over England at Eden Park on Saturday night but quickly switched to focusing on the semifinal.
"They [players] have done their country proud and have played as well as past generations.
"We have seen very often they have given their best and sometimes after that they have failed," he said.
"So we will see whether this group will do the same as past generations or this time writes its own story."
France beat the All Blacks at the last tournament at the same stage, only to fall to England in the semifinal the following week.
In 2003 it also lost to England at the semifinal stage.
It won on Saturday night thanks to a superb first half, scoring two tries through winger Vincent Clerc and fullback Maxime Medard, and dominating through an accurate kicking game, and solid defence.
This was a team which was said to be divided and had been smashed by the All Blacks two weeks ago.
French captain Thierry Dusautoir put the turnaround in form down to the players fully appreciating where they were.
"Most of us realised that we were missing out on an extraordinary opportunity to play in the World Cup for our country.
"It is quite an unique experience that only comes once in a lifetime.
"We had two victories at the start, not so good, then a difficult match against Tonga ... but we had 22 French players who really wanted to go on in this competition."
There had been talk of disharmony and disputes in the French camp after the loss to Tonga but Lievremont said he just wanted to promote development of the players and ultimately it was up to them to perform on the park, which they did.
Dusautoir said the win differed from the 2007 victory over the All Blacks, as there was more intensity and France now simply needed to focus on Wales.
France held on in the second half and when replacement back Francois Trinh-Duc knocked over a dropped goal with less than 10 minutes left, the English left themselves with too big a mountain to climb.
England coach Martin Johnson lamented his side's start, saying its defence on the edges was not good enough and the French had a sound kicking game.
The English side had chances but its inability to convert those cost it, which Johnson conceded was the difference in the game.
"I'm proud of the way the guys fought back in the second half.
"It was winnable but we left ourselves with too much to do," Johnson said.
"I believe the best days for this team are ahead of it. A lot of them this was their first World Cup and they will be better for the experience.
"But they are bitterly disappointed."
Johnson deflected any questions about his future, saying that was for another time.
France v England
France 19: Vincent Clerc, Maxime Medard tries; Dimitri Yachvili 2 pen, Francois Trinh-Duc drop goal
England 12: Ben Foden, Mark Cueto tries; Jonny Wilkinson con
Halftime: France 16-0
Crowd: 49,105