18:33 | HALF-TIME
France were the heavy favourites before this game, but the Macedonians have put up a solid fight throughout the first half - helped by some good saves. But as the half drew on, the French started to score more on the counterattack and in fast breaks and looked better and better. It's not yet a done deal, however ...
18:25
France have found a bit of an edge; a 3:0 run takes them into a 14:11 lead and it's time for Kiril Lazarov's first timeout. North Macedonia have about six minutes to get back on terms before the break.
18:21
Hugo Descat adds his fourth goal and puts France back into the lead.
18:20
The coaches are both looking a little frustrated at the mistakes their players are making. It's 10:10.
18:15
Kiril Lazarov is playing a seven-on-six attack and it's put North Macedonia into a 10:9 lead. Remi Desbonnet makes a potentially important save, and Guillaume Gille calls a timeout.
18:09
Remi Desbonnet looks frustrated as he allows a Nikola Kosteski shot to go past him and the Macedonians to equalise, but Ludovic Fabregas scores quickly on the counterattack. The Olympic champions look to just have the edge but the Macedonians are pressing hard and a good save from Nikola Mitrevski helps things.
18:03
Both teams' first attempts are misses, but Filip Taleski scoring from the field followed by Hugo Descat netting a penalty. And that sparks a flurry of action; Dika Mem, Ivan Djonov, Hugo Descat all netting within seconds of each other.
18:00
And we throw off, with North Macedonia in possession.
17:58
Anthems over ... are you ready?
17:50
The squads are being announced and Nikola Karabatic got a huge roar. If he scores 10 times this tournament he'll become the highest EHF EURO scorer ever.
17:33
Squad lists are out for both teams - you can see the line-ups on the match page here. There are no big surprises. From France's squad of 19, goalkeeper Samir Bellahcene, left back Timothey N'Guessan and Yanis Lenne are sitting this one out - Lenne has been suffering with back problems, so that's no surprise.
North Macedonia will be hoping their captain and goalkeeper Nikola Mitrevski has a good day as a squad with a number of younger players takes to the court.
17:20
The doors have opened and the fans are streaming in; both teams are on court warming up. 40 minutes until throw-off.
Remember, there's lots of ways to follow the EHF EURO: click here for the full list of broadcasters showing matches. If you can't find a broadcaster in your country, head to EHFTV where there will be live streaming of every game with English commentary. Geo-restrictions will apply if a broadcaster in the country where you live has the rights to the tournament.
17:00
Throughout the night our social media channels will be packed with content - in particular, keep an eye on our Instagram stories for exclusive on-court video.
16:45
We have arrived in Dusseldorf and are looking down at the absolutely spectacular view from the media tribune in the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA. There's lots of fans outside already and the place will be jumping in only an hour or so!
16:20
The EHF EURO live show presented by Trivago is well underway - tune in now and join the fun ahead of the games.
16:10
Here we go! It's less than two hours until throw-off between France and North Macedonia. Right now the Swiss fans are gathering to march to the stadium, ahead of their team's game against Germany at 20:45 CET.
Stay with us for the rest of the day for full match coverage, clips, photos and analysis!
14:00
The blog is now on a break until we get to the arena in a couple of hours, but don't worry, there's plenty to do in EHF EURO world until then.