Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan said France had deservedly dashed his side's Grand Slam dream but paid tribute to his players' battling display. "France deserved to win today. They played really well but it was a game we could have won as well," he said.
"We got in a position to do it but the margins are really tight at this level.
"Today it didn't go our way but the Championship is still at stake and there's a Triple Crown to play for next week against Wales," he told BBC Sport.
O'Sullivan was briefly optimistic of a winning rally following O'Driscoll's 72nd minute touchdown before Christophe Dominic's late "killer try".
"They played particularly well in the first half. They were very strong and made us work hard. It was very frustrating, and they topped it off with two tries.
"A weaker team would have fallen away, but I think our second-half performance was excellent," he said.
"When Brian scored under the posts there were still six minutes left, and the game was there.
"But this French team have won two Grand Slams in three years. They are a formidable outfit.
"The try (from Dominici) at the end was a real killer - we didn't deserve that."
O'Sullivan is not about to give up hope yet - even though Wales and France now appear to be in stronger positions to claim the championship.
"There is still the Triple Crown," he said.
 |  We will get over this disappointment within 24 hours |
"The fellows are feeling very down at the moment. But you just have to get on with it.
"We have to pick ourselves up, get back on the horse and start again next week."
Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, who stretched his Irish record to 27 tries with his superb second half score, was equally determined to come out fighting next week.
"We are not going to beat ourselves up over this defeat, disappointing as it was," he said.
"France were the better side and deserved to win the game. But we have the opportunity to win back-to-back Triple Crowns.
"We will get over this disappointment within 24 hours and when we meet up again on Sunday evening we will be gearing ourselves up for the Cardiff game.
"It is going to be a very hotly-contested match with Wales going for a possible Grand Slam and we have to try and deny them.
"We will certainly have to up our performance from Saturday to stop the Welsh achieving their goal," added the Ireland skipper.
MMIX
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