Number eight Imanol Harinordoquy has been named vice-captain and Laporte hinted he will one day take the captaincy himself.
"He deserves it," Laporte added. "He is very much involved in the life of the group.
"He is young and talented, it is normal that we give him a boost. He definitely has the right profile to become one of the French team's captains."
Laporte has called up two uncapped players.
Toulouse hooker William Servat, 23, steps in for his first call up as a replacement for the retired Raphael Ibanez and Bourgoin lock Pascal Pape, also 23, comes in at second row.
"We have been following Servat for a long time," Laporte said. "He is a promising player.
"As far as Lievremont is concerned, his recent seasons have been blighted by a lot of injuries.
"He is 30 and he can bring a lot to the team. He is the Biarritz captain and has proved a key element to their team.
"It is normal to welcome him back within the squad. We will try to keep the same team against Ireland and Italy."
The coach has also recalled four players who missed the run to the 2003 World Cup semi-finals - Pieter De Villiers, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Vincent Clerc and Thomas Lievremont - while Tony Marsh misses out through injury.
France RBS 6 Nations 2004 squad :
Forwards: Yannick Bru (Toulouse), William Servat (Toulouse), Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Francais), Pieter De Villiers (Stade Francais), Jean-Jacques Crenca (Agen), Fabien Pelous (Toulouse, captain), David Auradou (Stade Francais), Pascal Pape (Bourgoin), Serge Betsen (Biarritz), Imanol Harinordoquy (Pau), Olivier Magne (Montferrand), Thomas Lievremont (Biarritz).
Backs: Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz), Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (Toulouse), Frederic Michalak (Toulouse), Brian Liebenberg (Stade Francais), Yannick Jauzion (Toulouse), Damien Traille (Pau), Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), Pepito Elhorga (Agen), Christophe Dominici (Stade Francais), Nicolas Brusque (Biarritz).
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