The captain's recall is the only change to the starting side from the 24-3 success against the Azzurri, although head coach Warren Gatland does make a further alteration to his replacements' bench as crum-half Lloyd Williams returns to the matchday 22 after a thigh injury, taking over from last week's debutant Rhys Webb.
Tipuric misses out altogether due to his position as an out and out seven, with Ryan Jones providing the back-row cover for Warburton, Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau.
Gatland has named the same backline for the fifth game in a row, while injured hooker Huw Bennett, retired wing Shane Williams and the recently returned Luke Charteris are the only absentees from the starting side that lost to the French in Auckland.
With so much resting on Saturday's result, and with an added element of revenge from that heart-breaking loss five months ago thrown into the mix, the Welsh side are facing plenty of pressure in the build up to the Millennium Stadium showdown but Gatland insists his team are treating this particular game just the same as any other.
"We are obviously aware of what this game means to the fans," said Gatland.
"Some 60,000 of them came to the Millennium Stadium during the Rugby World Cup to watch us face France in the semi-final on the television screens and that tells you everything about how dedicated they are.
"But this weekend we play in front of a sell-out 74,500 crowd with a chance to make history in Cardiff. They will be there to watch us in the flesh, they can make a real and positive contribution to the atmosphere and, like us, will be thinking of nothing other than the here and now.
"In camp all we can and must do is make preparations as normal. The magnitude of the game is not lost on us but it is irrelevant to how we prepare.
"We have our captain back and, although Justin Tipuric is unlucky after playing well in his place last week, Sam's presence is a welcome boost to everyone."
Wales (v France, Millennium Stadium, Saturday, 2.45pm)
15 Leigh Halfpenny
14 Alex Cuthbert
13 Jonathan Davies
12 Jamie Roberts
11 George North
10 Rhys Priestland
9 Mike Phillips
1 Gethin Jenkins
2 Matthew Rees
3 Adam Jones
4 Alun Wyn Jones
5 Ian Evans
6 Dan Lydiate
7 Sam Warburton (captain)
8 Toby Faletau
Replacements
16 Ken Owens
17 Paul James
18 Luke Charteris
19 Ryan Jones
20 Lloyd Williams
21 James Hook
22 Scott Williams
NB Bold denotes Lion
France
15 Clement Poitrenaud
14 Wesley Fofana
13 Aurelien Rougerie
12 Florian Fritz
11 Alexis Palisson
10 Lionel Beauxis
9 Dimitri Yachvili
1 Jean-Baptiste Poux
2 William Servat
3 David Attoub
4 Pascal Papé
5 Yoann Maestri
6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain)
7 Julien Bonnaire
8 Imanol Harinordoquy
Replacements
16 Dimitri Szarzewski
17 Vincent Debaty
18 Julien Pierre
19 Louis Picamoles
20 Morgan Parra
21 François Trinh-Duc
22 Jean-Marcellin Buttin
