Number one seeds South Africa pushed France all the way in the showpiece match, as they threatened another comeback victory as they fought back from 21-7 down at the break to trail 21-19 with a minute to play. But the 2014 champions and 2018 silver medallists were not to be denied.
Argentina, champions in 2018, beat Canada in the bronze medal match.
Final: Cousins hand France victory in thriller
Gaspard Laharrague dived over in the corner to claim gold for France at the end of a blockbuster final in Dakar that ended 26-19.
South Africa’s Jake Dave had scored twice late in the second half to set-up a grandstand finish as they roared back into contention after Les Bleuets had raced into what had seemed to be an insurmountable lead.
Two first-half tries for Laharrague’s cousin Simon and a third for Doryan Petigenet had handed France the initiative in the final against South Africa, as they maintained their impressive form through to the competition.
Darnell Delport’s touchdown for South Africa in the gold medal match was only the second time Les Bleuets’ whitewash had been crossed in two days of competition in Dakar.
Dave broke through to become the third player to score against France midway through the second half to give the top seeds hope of another comeback win. And, after the unfortunate Albertus Nel had been stretchered off, he scored again from the restart scrum to bring the top seeds to within two points with one last restart to come.
But a mistake at kick-off handed the ball to France, who built their attack until the space opened up for Laharrague to put the result beyond doubt.
Earlier, Matt Lefeuvre scored three of their 10 semi-final tries against Canada as France set about day two in Dakar in the same relentless manner as they had played day one with a dominant semi-final victory.
Jonas Fradet added two touchdowns of his own, and five players weighed-in with a score as the 2014 champions and 2018 finalists won 58-0.
South Africa, meanwhile, had booked their place in the final in dramatic fashion, coming back from 12-0 down to beat 2018 Youth Olympic Games champions Argentina 24-12.
Frederico Anderson opened the scoring for South Americans, and Frederico Kantz added a second as they dominated the opening exchanges. But, Darnell Delport gave South Africa a lifeline just before the break, and Kingsley Pule narrowed the gap to just two points early in the second period.
The game entered the final minute with Argentina hanging on to their lead - but a late double for Rosco Williams settled the matter.
Bronze Final: Argentina claim podium place in style
Argentina claimed bronze with a confident 36-5 victory over Canada.
Federico Anderson’s first-half double handed them the advantage at the break, and he completed his hat-trick midway through the second period, after Ramon Benedit had extended their lead.
There was time left for Tomas Galetti Arechaga and Santiago Martos Rodriguez to run in late tries as they made the most of the gaps that opened up as Canada tried to chase the game.
Remy Folnovic’s late try handed Germany fifth place at the end of a thrilling, momentum-swinging play-off against Japan.
First-half tries for Andre Brauner and Felix May looked to have given Germany sizeable advantage in their fifth-place play-off against Japan. But Akimoto Koki handed Japan a lifeline shortly before the break.
Moritz Thonfeld extended Germany’s lead again early in the second half, but Shiratani Reo and Kito Takumi hit back to level the scores in the dying moments to raise Japan’s hopes - until Folnovic settled proceedings.
Germany had earlier found an extra gear in the second half of their fifth-place semi-final against late entrants Uganda, eventually winning 22-0 courtesy of three tries after the break, after being made to work for their 7-0 first-half lead; while two tries for Koike Ouga helped Japan to a comfortable 19-5 win over hosts Senegal to set up a fifth-place play-off against Germany.
Mouhamed Diop was then the golden-point extra-time hero for Senegal, as they came from behind to claim seventh-place with a 10-5 win over Uganda.
Watch the last day of Rugby Sevens action at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympics, featuring the closing stages of the women’s competition live and free here