France's debut was one of the most anticipated moments of the men's volleyball tournament at the Paris Games. Andrea Giani's boys lived up to the expectations of thousands of fans, defeating, albeit in five sets, the Serbian team 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 15-6).
The victory gave France a lead in Group A, with "Les Bleus" taking their first two points in the Olympic tournament – Serbia earned one point.

One of the ten Olympic champions from Tokyo who are with the team in Paris – Trevor Clevenot, was the most productive tonight with 23 points (17 attacks, five blocks, one ace). Patry contributed 22 (including 19 attacks and three aces), while star Earvin Ngapeth scored only 14 points (ten attacks, three blocks, one ace).

For Serbia, upon their return to the Olympics for the first time since London 2012, the most points were scored by middle blocker Marko Podrascanin with 13 (six attacks, seven blocks) and Drazen Luburic with 12 attack points.

Both teams had incredible blocking performances, with 29 points in the match coming from this element – 17 for the French and 12 for the Serbians.

In the stands, Novak Djokovic was also present to support his compatriots.
In their next match, "Les Bleus" will face Canada on July 30 (Tuesday), at 22:00, while Serbia will play Slovenia at 18:00.