France scored three times in the first half at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova to take control in Group E and Didier Deschamps' men led 5-0 with nine minutes remaining in the match before Switzerland pulled two goals back to add a sliver of respectability to the scoreline.
Throughout the contest in Salvador, the Swiss, who are ranked 11 spots ahead of France in FIFA's rankings, could be seen pointing at each other in frustration as the likes of Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud and Mathieu Valbuena ran rampant up front.
Switzerland's Johan Djourou claimed after the game that he and his fellow defenders must improve ahead of their final opening-round fixture against Honduras.
"Today was a difficult game for us; we need to play better at the back," he told the website of the Swiss Football Association.
"We conceded a goal from a corner, had a lot of turnovers, made mistakes. We are a team and we must work together, we have five days to turn (this around)."
Switzerland's skipper Gokhan Inler, who set up his team's second goal in the 87th minute, bemoaned the mistakes that blighted their performance.
"To concede five goals against France, that hurts. We must try to make fewer mistakes," the midfielder said.
"Nothing is over yet. It's just a game, it is still open. The last game we have to win.
"Everyone needs to scrutinise their performance critically and then we need to prepare positively the Honduras game."
Switzerland had entered the match with just one loss in their past 19 matches - a streak which had stretched back to August 2012 - and, as the world's sixth-ranked nation, were expected to do well in Brazil.
Djourou argued Friday's performance did not accurately reflect their ability.
"In football, things move quickly. We must look forward," the 27-year-old said. "This team has potential but today we have not seen it."
