One-Test All Black Luke Whitelock will captain the side against the French XV on Wednesday morning (NZ time).
The loose forward, who was called into the squad as cover for Jerome Kaino, played his only Test in 2013 against Japan in Tokyo.
He also becomes the 132nd player to captain the All Blacks. 68 players have captained the Test side, while Whitelock will become the 64th to captain the side in a non-Test.
Whitelock will lead a young and inexperienced side, with Tawera Kerr-Barlow being the most-capped player in the 23, with 27 Tests under his belt.
Fourteen players from the team which played the Barbarians return to the match-day 23, and six new All Blacks have been named.
Jack Goodhue is at centre, while on the reserves bench Atu Moli has been named as prop cover. Akira Ioane and Dillon Hunt are loose forward cover off the bench. Mitch Drummond is reserve halfback and Richie Mo'unga is the other reserve back.
"This is another exciting opportunity for a young, group of men to go out and experience what it's like to wear the All Blacks jersey and deal with all the pressures that come with that. We are sure that they will represent themselves, their families and the All Blacks proudly," All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen said.
"Whilst Luke Whitelock is only playing his second game for the All Blacks, he was an obvious choice as captain given his experience and leadership as captain of both the Highlanders and Canterbury Mitre 10 Cup team. On behalf of the All Blacks, we'd like to congratulate Luke as well as the players who are pulling on the black jersey for the first time. It will be a proud moment for all of them.
"This match was included in the Vista Northern Tour itinerary at our request to allow us to provide an extra opportunity for this group. It'll allow us to continue to grow our depth, which will not only bode well for the here and now, but also 2019 and well beyond.
"This group has trained well and we're looking forward to watching them play at this level. We're expecting another boisterous crowd of 60,000 in Lyon which will create an exciting atmosphere for them and we're all looking forward to it."
All Blacks squad to face French XV
1. Tim Perry, 2. Nathan Harris, 3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 4. Patrick Tuipulotu, 5. Dominic Bird, 6. Liam Squire, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Luke Whitelock (c), 9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 11. Seta Tamanivalu, 12. Ngani Laumape, 13. Jack Goodhue, 14. Matt Duffie, 15. David Havili
Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Atu Moli, 18.Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 19.Scott Barrett 20. Akira Ioane, 21. Dillon Hunt, 22. Mitch Drummond, 23. Richie Mo'unga
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