BEIJING--France defeated the United States 45-37 here on Sunday in the men's sabre team event to retain its Olympic title.

France's Nicolas Lopez (L) and USA's James Williams compete during the men's team sabre gold medal match France vs. USA on August 17, 2008 at the Fencing Hall of National Convention Center, as part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.[Agencies]

The three French fencers, Julien Pillet, Boris Sanson and Nicolas Lopez, all delivered excellent performance in the final bout, scoring 15 points respectively.

On the U.S. side, Keeth Smart contributed a match high 20 points. In his last encounter with Pillet, Smart made nine hits on his French rival, but still failed to offset so huge a deficit for the whole team.

France is the top seed under International Fencing Federation world ranking. They were also winners at the 2004 Athens Games and second place winner of the 2007 World Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Italy took bronze medal of the men's sabre team, which wrapped up the fencing event of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.