Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema returned to the France squad for next week's friendly against Norway despite his involvement in an investigation over allegations that he solicited an underage prostitute.
Benzema, who was not at the World Cup after an unimpressive season, received a call on Thursday along with seven new players.
Last month, a French judge issued preliminary charges against Ribery and Benzema as part of a probe into a suspected network of prostitutes operating out of a nightclub on Paris' Champs-Elysees.
Some members of the French government said it would be better if the players were left out of the national squad during the investigation, but Blanc said Benzema's private life was none of his business.
"I thought it was important to give him a call because he can be part of the team's core in a near future," Blanc said. "He has got the qualities and hopefully he will have the desire. It was my responsibility to take him even if he is not in the best physical and mental shape."
France will begin its 2012 European Championship qualifying campaign against Belarus on Sept. 3 at Stade de France.
For the Norway friendly, Blanc called in an experimental group of 22 players, including 13 uncapped players and seven new faces. Blanc, however, also called up experienced players like Arsenal's Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa of Marseille and AS Roma defender Philippe Mexes, who had been shunned by predecessor Raymond Domenech for the World Cup.
Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, who missed the World Cup due to a stomach problem, also earned a recall to a squad made up of 16 French League players.
"Some players will celebrate their first cap," Blanc said. "Hopefully they will welcome this with great honor, joy and motivation."
Blanc said he drew most of the players from French teams because they are in a better shape at this stage of the season than their counterparts playing abroad. The French league starts on Saturday
"The other European leagues start later and players in the French league are better prepared to play 90 minutes," Blanc told a news conference.
Monaco goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier, who was in South Africa as a backup but was not an official member of the France team that crashed out in the first round without winning a game, was also selected.
Blanc decided to drop all 23 World Cup players for the Norway match as collective punishment for the team's fiasco in South Africa, where the players also refused to train as a protest after Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home following an expletive-laced tirade at Domenech.
Former French football federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes has launched an investigation into the players' actions but Blanc hopes the federation will not impose new sanctions on the players.
"We'll always have this World Cup scar but hopefully I will be able to use all the weapons to reach my goals," Blanc said. "We have to be careful with the disciplinary sanctions and make sure that we don't penalize ourselves in the race for the 2012 Euros. Only good results will allow us to rub out what happened (in South Africa)."
Blanc said his main task will be to rebuild the defense and hopes Mexes will finally live up to expectations at international level. Mexes has been a stalwart at AS Roma since he joined the Italian club from Auxerre in 2004 but failed to deliver with France and was rarely called up by Domenech.
"The train already passed once and for various reasons he didn't climb on the bandwagon," Domenech said. "I told him to make sure he jumps in if the train comes a second time."
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Nicolas Douchez (Rennes), Stephane Ruffier (Monaco)
Defenders: Aly Cissokho (Monaco), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Rod Fanni (Rennes), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Adil Rami (Lille), Mamadou Sakho (Paris Saint-Germain), Benoit Tremoulinas (Bordeaux)
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Blaise Matuidi (Toulouse), Yann Mvila (Saint-Etienne), Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan), Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse)
Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Jimmy Briand (Lyon), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris Saint-Germain), Jeremy Menez (AS Roma), Loic Remy (Nice).
