The match, in which France were reduced to 10 men in only the 25th minute after conceding a penalty that saw defender Eric Abidal sent off, attracted a 28.2% share of the audience between 7.30pm-10pm.
The popularity of the football hurt ITV1's perennial favourite 'Midsomer Murders', starring John Nettles, which had just 3.8m viewers and a 16.5% share between 8pm-10pm.
Channel 4 had a strong night, with the fourth episode of cosmetic makeover series '10 Years Younger', earning 2.4m viewers and a 10.7% share, between 8pm-9pm. The audience including Channel 4+1 ratings was 2.6m and 11.4%.
The sixth episode of 'Gordon Ramsay's F Word', which featured former deputy prime minister John Prescott cooking fishcakes and Dannii Minogue making a vegetarian risotto, brought a solid 3.2m viewers and a 13.5% share to Channel 4 between 9pm-10pm. Including Channel 4+1, it earned 3.5m viewers and a 14.8% share.
'Big Brother' continues to hold its audience just above the 3m mark, with last night's instalment at 10pm-11.05pm landing 3.3m viewers and an 18.9% share. The audience including Channel 4+1 ratings was 3.4m viewers and a 19.8% share.
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