Angola, led by Spaniard Carlos Viver, could do nothing against the powerful host team, which had already secured its place in the quarter-finals, and postponed the decision of the qualification until the last round of Group B against Brazil.
Angola, in fourth place with three points, and Brazil, in fifth with two, will face each other on Saturday in a sort of final to decide which team will accompany France, the Netherlands and Hungary to the knockout phase of the Olympic tournament.
To reach the quarter-finals and equal its best record, the national team, which has participated in eight consecutive Olympic Games since Atalanta in 1996, cannot lose to Brazil and can draw.
The French team, well defended, with its goalkeeper Laura Glauser standing out, quickly took a five-goal lead, at 7-2, which led national team coach Carlos Viver to call the first technical time-out.
France maintained a five-goal lead until 11-6, after which the Angolan team responded with a 3-0 run and reduced the deficit to two at 11-9, but the reaction was inconsequential and the Olympic and world champions were four goals ahead at half-time (18-14).
In the second half, the difference in pace between the two teams became more pronounced and France, always more efficient, took advantage of this to gradually open up the lead, which with about 10 minutes to go in the match was already 10 goals (27-17).
France, setting the pace of the game, maintained a 10-goal advantage until 33-23, when with a 5-1 run they increased it to 14 and closed the match at 38-24, remaining unbeaten in first place in Group B.
Vilma Nenganga, Stelvia Pascoal and Azenaide Carlos, all with five goals, were the top scorers for the national team, while for the French team Orlane Kanor stood out with seven, Tamara Horacek with six and Estelle Minko with five.
Also on Thursday, the teams of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Hungary joined the Olympic and world champions France in the quarter-finals of the women's handball tournament in Paris2024, which still has two places available.
With one matchday remaining, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, all with six points, have already secured qualification from Group A, which still has one place to fill, within reach of Germany, South Korea and Slovenia, with two.
Sweden secured qualification for the group of the eight best teams with a 27-21 victory over South Korea, Denmark with a narrow 28-27 victory over Germany and Norway with a 29-22 victory over Slovenia.
In Group B, which saw the undefeated leaders France as the first to qualify, on the third matchday, the Netherlands and Hungary sealed qualification with victories over Brazil (31-24) and Spain (27-24), respectively.
Group B is led by hosts France, Olympic and world champions, with eight points, followed by the Netherlands with six, Hungary with five, Angola with three, Brazil with one and Spain with zero.
