The defender signed a five-year contract last week after leaving AS Roma for an initial fee of eight million euros ($8.86 million) that could rise to 10 million with bonuses.
"I want to have a great season with Lyon," Yanga-Mbiwa said on Monday. "The aim is to finish top and then, once that's done, why can't I claim a place in the France team?".
"I'm very happy to be able to play at a club like OL. They're a great team," added the 26-year-old who last played for his country in 2012.
Born in the Central African Republic, Yanga-Mbiwa won the Ligue 1 title in 2012 with Montpellier where he spent six seasons before moving on to Newcastle United in January 2013 and then AS Roma in June 2014.
He played 28 Serie A matches and nine Champions League and Europa League games for Roma.
"I made a lot of progress in Italy," said Yanga-Mbiwa. "Serie A is a much more tactical championship than Ligue 1 and I also improved my positioning a lot."
($1 = 0.9033 euros)
(Reporting by Tim Collings, editing by Tony Jimenez)
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