PARIS — From the Eiffel Tower to the Champs-Elysees and across the Paris Metro, the Women’s World Cup has had little visibility in the French capital.

The hosts at least made their presence felt on the field Friday night in front of French President Emmanuel Macron. FIFA’s monthlong women’s soccer showpiece opened with France beating South Korea 4-0 in front of 45,261 fans at Paris Saint-Germain’s stadium.

“We knew that it was going to be a very emotional evening but I think we managed it well,” said Wendie Renard, who scored twice on headers off corner kicks. “When you have more than 45,000 people singing the French national anthem, obviously it drives you forward, but we really made the most of the crowd’s support.”

Eugenie Le Sommer and Amandine Henry also scored on a cool, windy night.

France is vying to become the first nation to hold the men’s and women’s World Cup titles at the same time. France’s margin of victory was the largest in a Women’s World Cup opener since China beat Norway by the same score at the first tournament in 1991.

Norway and Nigeria meet in the other Group A opener Saturday. France faces Norway on Wednesday and Nigeria on June 17.

Four years ago, all nine teams that won their opener advanced from the 24-nation group stage to the Round of 16.

The first game for the U.S., which is in Group F, will be against Thailand in Reims, France, at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Chile and Sweden are the other two teams in the group.

France is hosting the tournament in a time when women’ teams are increasingly pushing for equal treatment from FIFA and other soccer governing bodies.

The world’s fourth-ranked team wasn’t tested by No. 14 South Korea. France had a 17-0 advantage in shots in the first half and 21-4 overall.

The use of the city’s second-largest stadium – rather than the Stade de France where French men opened and ended the European Championship three years ago – underscores the ongoing quest for greater gender equality.

The prize money for the women’s event has doubled from four years ago to $30 million, but the total available for the 32 men’s teams last year in Russia was $400 million – and that is increasing by $40 million for Qatar in 2022.

“Is it enough? No,” said the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino. “Can we do better? Yes. But it’s a step.”