Last year's runners-up proved too strong for the Canadians, wrapping up a 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 win in the I1 mini-pool in Antwerp.

Stephen Boyer led the scoring for France with a game-high tally of 25 points, while Trevor Clevenot chipped in with 10.

Stephen Timothy Maar was the top performer for Canada but his 12 points proved to be in vain.

France are already assured of going through to the next round as one of the top six qualifiers and their victory over the Canadians ensured they would top the group in front of defending champions Serbia.

Elsewhere, Russia battled to a thrilling five-set win against the United States in Pool H1 in Lodz in Poland.

The Russian side came into the contest as slight outsiders but managed to oust the Americans, bronze medallists at last year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, 31-29, 17-25, 25-19, 27-29, 15-13.

Egor Kliuka scored 22 points for Russia to help his side clinch a superb victory, while Taylor Sander of the US was the top scorer in the match with 28.

The success for the Russian team meant they moved up to fourth place on the overall 12-team table, which all the mini-pools feed into.

Belgium then recorded their second win in as many days, dropping one set on their way to a 25-22, 26-24, 25-27, 25-16 triumph on home soil in Antwerp.

Poland also harnessed the energy of the home crowd as they breezed to a 25-17, 25-18, 25-22 success over Iran.

Serbia fell to a surprise 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-12 loss to Bulgaria in Pool G1 in Cordoba in Argentina.

In the other match in the pool, the hosts overcame Brazil in four sets 19-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19.