Cam Roigard and Will Jordan scored twice each as New Zealand held on to edge an under-strength France 34-32 in a nine-try thriller in Christchurch on Saturday to open the inaugural Nations Championship.
It was the All Blacks' first test under new coach Dave Rennie and he saw France, who scored four tries, run his team close despite fielding a line-up without any players from top clubs Toulouse and Montpellier.
New Zealand scored five tries in total, but captain Ardie Savea admitted his side had been given a severe test by the French.
"It was tough. The French were quality tonight. When we had the ball in our hands, we were dangerous," Savea told ITV Sport.
"A test match is always going to bring its challenges. France came to play and put us under pressure. I am proud of the boys for what they put in."
Fabien Galthie had his side start at a frantic tempo playing with great pace and accuracy in the opening exchanges.
Record French try scorer Damian Penaud took his total to 41 in just the second minute as he cantered over the line.
In the build-up, full-back Max Spring was hit high by Ruben Love, earning the fly-half a yellow card and crowning a horror opening two minutes for the Rennie era.
A man down, New Zealand started to find their feet and struck back in the eighth minute through wing Jordan, after Savea earned a turnover in a good position.
ALL BLACK RUNNING GAME SPARKLES
It was a rare success for New Zealand at the breakdown as France won quick ball and dealt well with any attempted All Blacks disruption, leaving the hosts scrambling on defence.
After Love's return, New Zealand's running game came to life as he and Damian McKenzie made forays into the French half.
Peter Lakai gave New Zealand the lead in the 21st minute, put through after a McKenzie break and a fine inside pass from Caleb Clarke.
A pair of French penalties for Maxime Lucu nudged his team in front until a Roigard snipe from the back of the ruck gave New Zealand a 19-13 lead at the break.
France started the faster of the two again in the second half as Antoine Hastoy scored in the 47th minute after a Theo Attissogbe basketball-style pass over three markers.
Roigard had his second try moments later, before Attissogbe struck for France after a Fabien Brau-Boirie try was disallowed for a knock-on.
Jordan scored to go joint second all time for the All Blacks on 47 test tries, and for the first time New Zealand had breathing space at 34-25 with nine minutes to go.
But France struck back again, Matthieu Jalibert bundling over the line with two minutes remaining.
But New Zealand's forwards retained possession from the restart to see out the clock and hung on for victory.
"France are very unpredictable and like to play what is in front of them and there was a lot of French flair, so credit to them," Roigard said on ITV sport.
"I am proud of the boys for hanging in there."