France won the deciding doubles rubber to claim a first Fed Cup title since 2003 in Perth, Australia.
Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia beat Ashleigh Barty and Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-3 to seal a 3-2 victory, denying Australia a first Fed Cup in 45 years.
Earlier, Mladenovic defeated Barty in the singles but Ajla Tomljanovic beat Pauline Parmentier to level.
"I'm the proudest man on the planet. I am going to have a lot of beers," said French captain Julien Benneteau.
"I'm so proud of my girls and my team. They deserve it because they fought for a long time for this title.