The Stade de France fixture was the first competitive match in one of Europe's leading football countries to allow fans to attend since March, albeit in severely restricted numbers with a maximum of 5,000 people permitted inside the 80,000-seater venue.
A minute's applause was held ahead of kick-off for the victims of COVID-19, which has claimed the lives of over 30,000 people in France, and in support of frontline workers.
Record 12-time winners PSG were appearing in a sixth successive French Cup final while Saint-Etienne were attempting to end a 43-year wait for the trophy, the last of their six triumphs dating back to 1977.
Young Dutch left-back Mitchel Bakker was handed a rare start for PSG in the absence of the injured Juan Bernat while coach Thomas Tuchel fielded a familiar attacking quartet of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi.