On 11 May, M'Vila was named to the 30-man preliminary list by Domenech to play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup but failed to make the final 23.
On 5 August 2010, M'Vila was officially called up to the senior team for the first time by new manager Laurent Blanc for the team's friendly match against Norway on 11 August 2010.
He earned his first senior cap in the match starting in the defensive midfielder role.
Despite France losing the match 2–1, M'Vila earned rave reviews for his performance, with many media outlets in France naming him the team's player of the match.

Following his debut, M'Vila appeared in five consecutive matches for France.
After starting in the team's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2010, he became the only player to feature as a starter in Blanc's first three matches as manager.
On 25 March 2011, M'Vila completed 92.5 percent of his 134 attempted passes in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying win over Luxembourg.
The feat was the best by any France player in an international match since 2006.
On 2 September 2011, M'Vila scored his first international goal in a 2–1 Euro qualifying victory over Albania.

After appearing regularly in qualifying for Euro 2012, on 29 May 2012 M'Vila was named to the squad to participate in the competition.
After missing the team's opening match against England due to an ankle injury, on 15 June, he made his debut at a senior international competition in the team's second group stage match against the Ukraine.
M'Vila appeared as a substitute for Alou Diarra in the second half as France won the match 2–0.

M'Vila last played for French representative teams when he featured in both legs of the France U21 team's qualification playoff with Norway U21; the Norwegians' aggregate victory meant France failed to qualify for the final tournament.
On 8 November 2012, M'Vila was banned from national team matches until June 2014 after an unauthorised night out while on under-21 duty.
On 11 May, M'Vila was named to the 30-man preliminary list by Domenech to play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup but failed to make the final 23. On 5 August 2010, M'Vila was officially called up to the senior team for the first time by new manager Laurent Blanc for the team's friendly match against Norway on 11 August 2010. He earned his first senior cap in the match starting in the defensive midfielder role. Despite France losing the match 2–1, M'Vila earned rave reviews for his performance, with many media outlets in France naming him the team's player of the match.
Following his debut, M'Vila appeared in five consecutive matches for France. After starting in the team's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2010, he became the only player to feature as a starter in Blanc's first three matches as manager. On 25 March 2011, M'Vila completed 92.5 percent of his 134 attempted passes in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying win over Luxembourg. The feat was the best by any France player in an international match since 2006. On 2 September 2011, M'Vila scored his first international goal in a 2–1 Euro qualifying victory over Albania.
After appearing regularly in qualifying for Euro 2012, on 29 May 2012 M'Vila was named to the squad to participate in the competition. After missing the team's opening match against England due to an ankle injury, on 15 June, he made his debut at a senior international competition in the team's second group stage match against the Ukraine. M'Vila appeared as a substitute for Alou Diarra in the second half as France won the match 2–0.
M'Vila last played for French representative teams when he featured in both legs of the France U21 team's qualification playoff with Norway U21; the Norwegians' aggregate victory meant France failed to qualify for the final tournament. On 8 November 2012, M'Vila was banned from national team matches until June 2014 after an unauthorised night out while on under-21 duty.
Yann M'Vila