Les Bleus named a strong line-up that had eight players who started in their 2018 World Cup final triumph, while returnee Karim Benzema was among the new faces as Manuel Neuer became the first German goalkeeper to get a 100th start.
Didier Deschamps' charges had a posive start as Paul Pogba came close to giving them the lead in the 16th minute with a close-range free header that sailed over the bar before Kylian Mbappe forced a save out of Neuer a minute later with a low strike.
France eventually got the opener in the 20th minute after Mats Hummels misdirected a clearance from Lucas Hernandez's cross on the byline into the back of his own net.
Die Mannschaft could've been level eight minutes before the break through IIkay Gundogan, who had a big opportunity after latching onto a cut-back by Serge Gnabry inside the box but he dragged his volley wide of the mark.
The game was opening up in the early stages of the second stanza and Adrien Rabiot had a wonderful chance to double the lead for France seven minutes from the break after going through on goal but hit the near post, with Antoine Griezmann wating for a tap-in.
Mbappe thought he had made it 2-0 for Les Bleus in the 67th minute after latching onto a through ball on the blind side, cut inside the box and curled a stunning strike into the bottom corner but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Joachim Low responded by making a double change, as Timo Werner and Leroy Sane both came on for Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz respectively, refreshing the attack.
With Low's men committing numbers forward, they were caught again on the break in the last six minutes as Pogba released Mbappe on the right channel, who raced away and played a square pass to Benzema, who beat Neuer in a one-on-one but the goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for another offside.
Die Mannschaft had the momentum in the dying minutes, desperate for the equaliser but Les Bleus were well organised at the back and held on to confirm their perfect start in Group F.