France, who finished second in their preliminary round group level on points with the Olympic champions Russia, were 17-11 ahead by the halfway point and shared 24 points in the second half, with Estelle Nze Minko top-scoring for them with six goals.

The hosts are now top of their main round group, level on points with Russia, who have played a game less.

A crowd of  5,296 watched the match at Hall XXL in Nantes, which then hosted the second main round match of the night, which saw Montenegro beat Sweden 30-28.

Group two main round matches start tomorrow with Spain playing Germany and defending champions Norway, who have progressed despite two defeats, meeting Hungary and needing to win three games in a row to stand a chance of remaining in contention.

In the African Women’s Handball Championships at Brazzaville,  Senegal established their command of the preliminary round group A, moving two points clear at the top with a 35-22 win over Algeria at the Kintele Sports Complex.

Senegal are the first team to earn a place in the quarter-finals.

In the other group A match, Tunisia earned a 35-28 win over Ivory Coast, who are still without any points, and will meet Senegal in the final round of group matches tomorrow.

Angola moved top of group B with a 33-24 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Guinea beat Morocco 42-22.

Today was a rest day at the Asian Women’s Handball Championships, where tomorrow’s semi-finals will see Kazakhstan meeting South Korea and hosts Japan playing China.

Angola’s final group match tomorrow will see them meet the hosts, who are just a point behind them.