England had hooker Selena Rudge sin-binned in the early stages but were awarded a penalty try after France gave away a host of penalties near the line.

Rochelle Clark added another try on 24 minutes before number eight Catherine Spencer added a third try just after the half-time interval.

Wing Danielle Waterman wrapped up the scoring on 60 minutes.

"The players should take all the glory for this win. They were magnificent, doing everything required of them to beat France and beat them well," said head coach Geoff Richards.

"We were strong up-front with our line-out and scrums functioning well, but to be honest I was impressed with each and every player's performance.

"France have beaten us the last two years in the Six Nations so to beat them now without conceding a point and in a World Cup year is a very important win."

England have already beaten Wales, Spain and Scotland and the win over France is their first since 2003.