PARIS - French Olympic star Antoine Dupont will bring his "aura" to Les Bleus as they seek to deny Ireland an unprecedented third successive Six Nations title, head coach Fabien Galthie said.
The outstanding scrum-half missed last year's tournament to focus on rugby sevens in the build-up to the Paris Games and his decision paid off in style with a gold medal at the Stade de France.
In his absence, France finished second behind Ireland in last year's Six Nations.
"I'm happy to be back in this beautiful tournament," said France captain Dupont.
"We've got a lot of ambition for this tournament, we have the potential to win it and I'm excited about that."
Dupont, a star of France's 2022 Six Nations Grand Slam, led his country to wins against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina in an unbeaten November series.
"He's got such an aura that has a big impact on the squad so his return is important for us," said Galthie.
Standing in France's way are powerful Ireland, bidding to become the first side to win the title three years in a row since the tournament was expanded to six teams in 2000.
The Irish are in an unusual position, with Simon Easterby in caretaker charge while head coach Andy Farrell is seconded to the British and Irish Lions for their tour of Australia later this year.
Easterby said the challenge for his team, second in the global rankings, is to "stay ahead of the pack" -- a message amplified by skipper Caelan Doris.
"If we don't keep improving then someone else will take the reins," said Doris. "We've got England at home first up (on February 1) and it's hard to look beyond that for now."