France are reportedly very wary of England and in particular the threat Ben Foden poses ahead of their crunch clash in Paris on March 20.
England have won on their last two trips to the French capital in the RBS Six Nations and are in a position to derail Marc Lievremont's side's Grand Slam hopes.
Foden, the Northampton full-back, has never even started a Test match for England but he is very likely to do so at the Stade de France due to Delon Armitage's unavailability because of the injury he picked up against Ireland at Twickenham.
Foden played just 21 minutes against Declan Kidney's side, but that was enough for France's defence coach, Dave Ellis, to let Lievremont know his concern.
"England when they attacked didn't really cause Ireland any problems whatsoever, apart from when Foden came on," Ellis told The Daily Mirror.
"There was no penetration in midfield. Ireland could reorganise their defence for numerous phases without any real problems.
"I saw enough of Foden, though, to know that he is a danger man, a guy who can pose a major threat.
"In the past it has been Jason Robinson that France have had to keep an eye on. Like Robinson, Foden offers that threat running things back.
"He can give England a bit of momentum with kick returns and we need to be aware that he's going to cause a little bit of concern if we kick sloppily."