Born in Vitry-sur-Seine, Briand began his career at US Ivry, before joining CSF Brétigny. Thereafter, he was selected to attend the INF Clairefontaine. After finishing his stint at the INF Clairefontaine, Briand joined the youth academy of Ligue 1 club Rennes. While in Rennes' youth system, Briand won the Coupe Gambardella in 2003. He made his first team debut on 20 May 2003 during the 2002–03 Ligue 1 season, at the age of 17, in a Ligue 1 match against Paris Saint-Germain, coming on as a substitute and playing 25 minutes. The match finished 0–0. Over the next two seasons, his play was limited to appearing in only 17 Ligue 1 matches and scoring just one Ligue 1 goal, against Montpellier in a 4–0 victory. Briand finally broke into the first team for the 2005–06 season, appearing in 29 Ligue 1 matches and scoring three Ligue 1 goals to help Rennes finish in 7th position in the 2005-06 Ligue 1; they just missed qualifying for the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup by one spot. Over the next two years, he appeared in all but four of the club's Ligue 1 matches, due to his consistently good performances in competitive matches and his not sustaining injuries. Despite being linked to clubs outside France, Briand decided to stay with Rennes for the 2008–09 season, during which he scored a club-high eight Ligue 1 goals. On 26 March 2009, Briand ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, while training with the French national team. The injury required six months to heal. As a result, Briand only made his 2009–10 Ligue 1 season debut for Rennes on 29 October, in a Ligue 1 match against Monaco. He finished the 2009-10 season with 23 appearances, scoring five goals.
Lyon
On 14 June 2010, Olympique Lyonnais president and chairman Jean-Michel Aulas announced that the club had signed Briand to a four-year contract effective on 1 July. The transfer fee was priced at €7.4 million. He was assigned the number 7 shirt. On 7 August 2010, he made his competitive debut for the club in a 0–0 home draw against Monaco, playing every minute of the match. On 18 February 2011, Briand scored an overhead bicycle kick goal in a 4–0 home win over Nancy.
club Hannover 96 confirmed the signing of Briand on 22 August 2014. He was handed the number 21 shirt.
Guingamp
On 3 August 2015, Briand joined French Ligue 1 club EA Guingamp on a two-year contract. On 17 May 2017, Briand extended his contract by two years, keeping him with the club until 30 June 2019. On 11 May 2018, Briand scored a goal from the penalty spot, his fifth goal in his last six Ligue 1 matches, in the 3–3 Ligue 1 home draw against Olympique de Marseille; it was also his 30th career Ligue 1 goal for Guingamp since joining them in August 2015.
Bordeaux
On 10 August 2018, Briand joined EA Guingamp's Ligue 1 rivals, Girondins de Bordeaux, on a two-year contract. He was released by Guingamp just three weeks before joining Bordeaux, with one year left on his contract with Guingamp. He had a "moral agreement" that he would not join another Ligue 1 club. Briand had secured a tentative deal to join Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact, but it fell through on 26 July 2018. On 31 August 2019, Briand scored the equalizer for Bordeaux, in an 1–1 away draw against Olympique Lyonnais, to become only the second player to score in 15 different Ligue 1 seasons in the 21st century, following in the footsteps of Souleymane Camara.
International career
Briand played for the under-21 team from 2004 to 2006, scoring 9 goals in 25 appearances. He was a member of the French squad that participated in the 2006 UEFA U-21 Championship helping France reach the semi-finals before losing to the Netherlands. Briand received his first call-up to the senior side in May 2007 for France's Euro 2008 qualification matches against Ukraine and Georgia. He would not make his debut in those matches. On 11 October 2008, Briand made his international debut, coming on as a substitute for Franck Ribéry in the 90th minute, against Romania, in a 2010 World Cupaway qualifying match that ended in a 2–2 draw.
