Head coach Jacques Brunel admitted he was "very annoyed" Les Bleus were cruelly denied victory over South Africa in Paris.
France were leading the one-off Test 23-9 right after the interval, following first half tries by captain Guilhem Guirado and Mathieu Bastareaud, and then 26-22 with a scrummage in the Springbok 22 as the game entered its last minute.
What happened next was a catalogue of misadventures as the French were first penalised, allowing the South Africans to clear their lines.
Damian Penaud then handed the Boks a line-out which eventually saw replacement hooker Bongi Mbonambi slide in with a match-winning try to make it 29-26 with five minutes remaining.
"I was trying to look at the positives but I am very annoyed because we lost a match we should never have lost," said Brunel, who has won only two out of nine matches since replacing Guy Noves last December.
"We did not manage things well, especially in the last four minutes.
"We had four minutes left and later on, just thirty seconds left to win a match that a top side simply would not lose from that position. We cannot let opportunities like this pass us by."
Brunel was unhappy with referee Nigel Owens, accusing him of being "indulgent" towards the Springboks.
Les Bleus have now lost their last seven matches against South Africa. The last victory was in 2009 in Toulouse.
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