The Black Ferns have been left with a lot of work ahead of their home World Cup next year after ending their Northern tour winless today.
France handed New Zealand their fourth defeat of the tour with a 29-7 victory in Castres. The Black Ferns at least showed improvement after heavier defeats to England and France.
New Zealand had a slow start after France took a 14-0 lead after 13 minutes but fought back to close to gap to seven on the verge of halftime when Kennedy Simon crossed over in the 37th minute.
A Kendra Cocksedge conversion made it 14-7 but France struck a blow when The Black Ferns conceded a penalty try and yellow card to lock Maia Roos on the stroke of halftime.
French winger Marie Aurelie Castel made it a double scoring the only try of the second half.
