On 26 May 1994, Barthez won his first cap for France in a 1–0 victory against Australia. Barthez was understudy to Bernard Lama at UEFA Euro 1996 – at which France reached the semi-finals – after testing positive for cannabis earlier that year; he was suspended for two months as a result. Following a later suspension to Lama instead, however, Barthez subsequently gained the number one goalkeeping position shortly after the tournament and would not relinquish it for a decade.