Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra beat Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny to give France a 2-1 lead over Russia. The Russian pair raised their game to take the third set, but the French duo were in control for most of the match and won 7-5 6-4 6-7 (3/7) 6-2.
Nikolai Davydenko had put Russia level in the Davis Cup World Group quarter-final on Friday with victory over Paul-Henri Mathieu.
It made amends for Igor Andreev's loss to 19-year-old Richard Gasquet.
The teenager was making his debut in the competition.
Gasquet secured his 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-1) win on the clay courts of the Olympic Stadium in two hours 17 minutes.
"I was very nervous playing my first Davis Cup match," said Gasquet.
 |  I lost concentration completely serving two times for the match |
"But I just had to win it and after I went 1-0 up, everything was almost perfect. I'm happy to take the winning start."
Davydenko also admitted that the nerves got to him.
At 5-2 in the third set, the Russian was serving for the rubber but Mathieu managed to survive two match points and reduced the arrears with a break in the eighth game.
Mathieu then managed to survive two more match points in the 10th game and levelled at five games all.
But the 22-year-old suddenly run out of gas and allowed his opponent to break to a 6-5 lead minutes before he wrapped up the victory on a sixth match point.
Slovakia lead Holland 2-1 after Karol Beck and Michael Mertinak beat Paul Haarhuis and Peter Wessels 5-7 6-3 6-4 7-5.
Earlier, Wessels overcame Beck 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 6-7 (3/7) 6-4 6-2 to level the tie in Bratislava after Dominik Hrbaty had given Slovakia the edge by beating Raemon Sluiter 6-1 5-7 6-4 6-3.
"I tried to play as fast as I could so that I would not give him a chance to put me under pressure," he said.
Ivan Ljubicic defeated Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7/3) to put Croatia on level terms with Romania after Andrei Pavel had outlasted Mario Ancic 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4.
MMIX
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