It brings to an end nearly five years of waiting for the 54-year-old, who has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid in 2021 and turned down a string of club offers, including reported interest from Manchester United, in the hope the France job would eventually open up.
Across two spells in charge of the Bernabeu club, Zidane won 11 major trophies, including three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, an achievement no manager has since matched. FFF president Philippe Diallo made the announcement alongside Zidane on Tuesday at the federation's Paris headquarters.
In 14 years at the helm, Deschamps won the 2018 World Cup and the 2020-21 Nations League, reached two further finals at Euro 2016 and Euro 2022, and finished with an overall record of 120 wins from 185 matches. France's exit from this summer's tournament, a 2-0 semi-final loss to eventual champions Spain, proved his penultimate match in charge, with a 6-4 defeat by England in the third-place play-off confirming a fourth-place finish.
Zidane and Deschamps were team-mates in France's 1998 World Cup-winning side, where Zidane scored twice in the final before being named Ballon d'Or winner that year, finishing his own playing career with 108 caps, 31 goals and 29 assists for Les Bleus.
"The French team was the only thing I wanted to do," Zidane told reporters. "I've always looked at this team through the eyes of a future manager. I didn't take a club job for that reason. The only thing I wanted to do after Madrid was manage the French national team.
"I could have taken on a three-year role because Deschamps was there. He made that decision in January 2025, and the very next day I knew I wanted to be the next one. We met with the president and the deal was sealed."
The FFF president had first opened talks with Zidane back in February 2025, not long after Deschamps made clear he intended to leave once the World Cup was over.
"This is an exceptional moment, exceptional because of the person sat next to me," he said. "Zinedine is one of the legends of French soccer and for many years he said one of his dreams was to take charge of the France team. I would like to thank Didier Deschamps and his staff for their work. For 14 years he led the France team to the top."
His reign is scheduled to begin with an away Nations League fixture against Turkiye on 25 September, followed by a trip to Belgium three days later and a first home game against Italy at the Stade de France on 2 October. The contract itself runs until at least the 2030 World Cup, taking in Euro 2028 and two separate Nations League campaigns along the way.