The defeat was the first ever in a World Cup pool match for the All Blacks, who lost skipper Sam Cane to injury just before kickoff but opened the scoring through winger Mark Telea inside two minutes.
Three penalties from fullback Thomas Ramos to one from New Zealand fly half Richie Mo'unga had France 9-8 ahead at the break but Telea struck again off a looping Rieko Ioane pass three minutes into the second half.
Winger Damian Penaud scored a converted try in the 54th minute to put France 16-13 ahead and Ramos added another two penalties and Melvyn Jaminet crossed for another five-pointer two minutes from time.
France next face Uruguay in Lille on Thursday while New Zealand will take on Namibia in Toulouse the next day.
"It was a close game but the most important was to win tonight. Thanks to the crowd, who were outstanding," said winger Penaud.
While Les Bleus seemed to be on the back foot with very few chances early on, they were just lying in wait in the Parisian humidity, leaving their opponents wasting energy with repeated runs in the suffocating heat.
Fabien Galthie's side abandoned possession in the opening half before turning on the engine after the break, finally showing the kind of rugby that has put them back on the map in the last four years.
Sixteen years after losing their opening World Cup game as hosts against Argentina, France rose to the occasion, beating the All Blacks for the second time in a row.
The result leaves Ian Foster's team with a lot of questions to answer and doubts to shake off following their record loss against South Africa last month.
