The first-half was an absolute clinic. France were by no means awful, but every time they made a mistake, the All Blacks capitalised. Beauden Barrett, who kicked six from six, orchestrated proceedings at fly-half while Rieko Ioane and full-back Damien McKenzie cut holes everywhere against a French team featuring six debutants and a rookie half-back pairing.
France, however, restored some dignity in the second half, inspired by scrum-half Antoine Dupont, who on his first start ran Barrett very close as the best player on the pitch.
From 77 per cent territory and possession in the first half, New Zealand had to survive on 21 and 23 per cent after the break. Central to France's comeback was a dramatic transformation at the scrum. In the first half, New Zealand had been utterly dominant, winning three penalties in a row at one point and forcing the sin-binning of Rabah Slimani. Somehow those roles were completely reversed after half time.
Though New Zealand did bend, they did not break, keeping France at bay for the final half an hour of the game with Sam Whitelock and Sam Cane at the heart of the defensive resistance."
All Blacks beat France 38-18 in feisty rugby Test at Paris' Stade de France - By Daniel Gilhooly of Fox Sports
"The stutters of the All Blacks in 2017 have continued, eventually seeing off France 38-18 in a classic Test of two halves in Paris.
Up 31-5 after an alarmingly one-sided first spell, the world champions threatened to melt in the face of an inspired home side after the break.
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It took some staunch All Blacks' defence and slippery conditions to keep their tryline clean for the remainder as Les Bleus utterly controlled proceedings."
All Blacks beat France for 11th straight time - By Jerome Pugmire of AP
"France has not beaten New Zealand at home since winning in Marseille in 2000, and anywhere since an away success in Dunedin in 2009.
Coach Guy Noves' experimental side, featuring four players on debut and an inventive halves pairing, gave the All Blacks a bit of a fright in the second half until right winger Waisake Naholo grabbed his second try of the game in the final seconds.
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France showed its intent by meeting New Zealand's haka challenge, marching forward with arms linked before stopping in their tracks after a few meters.
Burly centre Mathieu Bastareaud, recalled for the first time since that World Cup humiliation two years ago, was in tears during the anthem, "La Marseillaise," and made a thumping early tackle on Naholo. But it only briefly stemmed the wave of attacks about to land on the French defense."
First-half All Blacks blitz sinks France - By Simon Borchardt of SA Rugby Magazine
"A dominant first-half display from the world champions saw them bounce back from their Bledisloe Cup loss to the Wallabies.
The All Blacks scored four tries in that 40-minute period and looked set for a big win. But France came out firing in the second half, scoring 13 unanswered points in 12 minutes. They could have added a few more had they taken a couple of subsequent chances, but the All Blacks were ultimately able to limit the damage and come away with the win.
This really was a game of two halves."
