In-form AC Milan striker Stephan El Shaarawi gave the hosts a first-half lead, and Mathieu Valbuena equalized for France almost immediately and then substitute Bafetimbi Gomis struck a second-half winner.

Italy, whose forward Mario Balotelli hit the post in the ninth minute, pushed hard for an equalizer in the closing stages but Sebastian Giovinco was denied by Hugo Lloris and Emanuele Giaccherini struck the crossbar as the Euro 2012 runners-up fell short.

Italy head coach Cesare Prandelli insisted his side did not deserve to lose the game, and saw it as a valuable experiment.

"We didn't deserve to lose this, but it was right to experiment and we will experiment again. We need to be ready for the tournament and that means using these games to test things out.

"We did some good things, it was the first time we were trying the 4-3-3, so some movements were not going to be solid," he said.

The victory earned France their first triumph on Italian soil since 1994 and saw them claim another impressive result under new coach Didier Deschamps having last month held Spain to a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw in Madrid.

French veteran defender Patrice Evra admitted France are "very proud" to beat Italy, even in a friendly.

"The French are very proud and have always had a great rivalry with Italy, so they'll be happy back home with the win," he said.