Jean Patry spearheaded France to a dominant 25-12, 25-18, 25-16 victory over South Korea in their opening match of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship held on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The French opposite hitter led all scorers with 16 points, achieved through 11 successful attacks, three aces, and two blocks, helping the reigning Olympic gold medalists secure a strong 1-0 start in Pool C.

Supporting Patry’s impactful performance were Trevor Clevenot and Nicolas Le Goff, who contributed nine and eight points respectively, as France dismantled South Korea in just 62 minutes. Reflecting on the game, Clevenot said, "I think we played a good game against a good team. We played good volleyball—defense and receptions—and we just focused on the game. That’s the most important."

Clevenot was particularly impressive in the third set, scoring consecutive points to extend France's lead to 10-6. Setter Antoine Brizard then reinforced the advantage with two successive aces, pushing the margin to 17-11. Patry continued to dominate with a powerful left-wing strike, followed by middle blocker Barthélémy Chinenyeze who thwarted a Korean attack, expanding the lead to 19-12.

Yacine Louati advanced France to match point, and Théo Faure sealed the win with a decisive final attack. On the Korean side, Heo Subong was the top scorer with nine points, supported by Im Donghyeok’s seven.

With this convincing performance, France, ranked World No. 4, demonstrated their championship potential early in the tournament.