youth international debut with the under-16 team on 11 December 2002 in a friendly against Greece, playing alongside Nasri and Ben Arfa. In the match, Ménez scored the fifth goal of a 6–1 victory. At the 2003 Aegean Cup in Turkey, he scored goals in three consecutive matches. Ménez scored goals against the Ukraine and Israel and netted his final goal in the third-place match against Belgium. At the Montaigu Tournament, Ménez scored three goals, second-best on the team behind Ben Arfa. He scored a goal in the team's 8–0 win over Gabon in the team's opening group match and, in the following match, scored the opening goal in the team's 3–0 win over Russia. In the team's final group stage match against England, Ménez netted another goal in a 3–1 victory. At a regional tournament in Salerno, Italy, Ménez led the team to the title by scoring a double in the final match against the hosts. He also scored two goals in the group matches against Japan and Finland. Ménez finished the under-16 campaign with 14 appearances and a team-leading 12 goals. With the under-17 team, Ménez, Ben Arfa, and Nasri were joined by Karim Benzema and tasked with the goal of winning the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship on home soil. Ménez made his debut with the team in the opening match of the season against Sweden. In the Tournio de Val-de-Marne, he scored one goal. France were crowned champions without conceding a goal. At the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, Ménez contributed to the team's winning the competition by scoring two goals, netting one against Turkey in the group stage and a second in the semi-finals against Portugal. In total with the under-17s, he made 17 appearances and scored 6 goals. Due to increased playing time at his parent club Sochaux, Ménez's stint with the under-18 team was uneventful. Ménez did appear with the team at the 2005 Meridian Cup, scoring five goals in four matches as France were crowned champions. The foursome of Ben Arfa, Nasri, Benzema and Ménez returned to international play together for under-19 duty. The four were joined by Issiar Dia, Blaise Matuidi and Serge Gakpé with the objective of winning the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. In the first round of qualification for the tournament, Ménez went scoreless as France advanced through the round undefeated. In the final round of qualification, he