France will stop picking players who have qualified under rugby union's controversial three-year residency rule.
The national federation boss Bernard Laporte made the announcement today after meeting with World Rugby president Bill Beaumont.
Players who currently play for France but are not born there will remain eligible but new players will require a French passport.
It means that Uini Atonio, Scott Spedding, Noa Nakaitaci and Virimi Vakatawa will continue to be selected for Les Bleus.
The sport's governing body allows a player to represent a different country if they have lived there for three consecutive years, once they haven't played for anyone else.
World Rugby is looking to extend the period to five years and it was a hot topic in October when former Irish international Luke Fitzgerald revealed his displeasure with the current rules.
"Would it affect me if there was a guy from another place getting picked ahead of me? I’ve been in that spot, and it does piss you off, definitely it does."
The likes of Jared Payne, CJ Stander, Quinn Roux and Richardt Strauss became eligible for Ireland because of the ruling while Connacht's Bundee Aki will qualify next year.
The IRFU's performance director David Nucifora was quite clear regarding Ireland's stance on the matter.
"They’re the rules, so that’s what is set out for us. So like every other country, we all operate from the same set of rules. Whilst they’re there, we’re happy to abide by them, again, like every other country does."
