A hat-trick from Vincent Clerc and one from Damien Traille saved the blushes of Marc Lievremont's French side, as they held on 46-19 win against Canada.
Ryan Smith scored his first world cup try for Canada and James Pritchard played well with the boot, as did Morgan Parra, the latter missing just one kick all night.
First Half
Canada opened the scoring early on through Pritchard but France hit back almost immediately through Clerc, the winger making the most of the conditions to capitalise on a high ball.
Smith responded with a try for Canada, another high ball not dealt with before being collected and touched down under the posts.
Canada began to find their feet and were playing all of the rugby, though they were extremely unlucky not to extend their lead through a Munro missed penalty and drop goal chance going just wide.
Parra levelled the score with a penalty off the back of the first good phase of French play as both teams settled into the match.
David Marty found room to run and was almost through but couldn't find his team mate Julian Bonnaire to finish the move.
France ended the half with three late penalties to take a somewhat undeserved nine point lead into half time.
Half Time “ France 19-10 Canada
Second Half
Both sides exchanged six points apiece as the 9 point gap was maintained.
Pritchard reduced the deficit to six through another Pritchard penalty as France could not seem to get away from their opponents
Damien Traille's score was enough to do that though as the European outfit moved clear.
Canada kept the pressure on and save for an inaccurate lineout throw, would have had a platform to build a worthwhile attack
France began to go through the motions with the clock ticking down, and having tied up the Canadian pack in the scrum, there was room for Clerc to cross for his second try of the match.
Final Score France 46-19 Canada
Verdict “ Only just getting a bonus point won't please anyone involved within the French setup, and save for the hat-trick from Clerc, the game could have so much different.
That being said New Zealand won't be concerned by anything they've seen in this game and could punish the French greatly next week.
Man of the Match “ Morgan Parra “ Despite Clerc scoring a hat-trick, Parra was brilliant with the boot and three penalties at the end of the first half gave the French the breathing space they needed.
