The Poles battled hard but were eventually defeated by the French team at the Spodek Arena in the southern Polish city of Katowice, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Poland and Sweden are jointly hosting the 2023 World Men’s Handball Championship, which began on Wednesday and runs until January 29.
Poland's coach Patryk Rombel said ahead of the opening game that France were "a very difficult opponent to beat" and "a very difficult match to start with" for his team.
He added: "France are a very strong side and it will be a very difficult start for us. But if we want to go far in the tournament, we have to play against the best teams in the competition, so we will always have to face tough opponents."
Poland will face Slovenia in their next game in the group stage of the tournament on Saturday.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, handball23.com