Canada drew fourth-ranked France in the Davis Cup World Group.

The good news for Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau is that the first-round tie will be held in this country. Canada, ranked 14th in the world posted road wins over Mexico, Ecuador and Israel to qualify for the Davis Cup's elite group, which features the top 16 countries.

"France is a very tough team, but we are now amongst the best in the world so every team is going to be tough and we think we are tough, too," Laurendeau said after the draw was held in Bangkok Wednesday. "We earned our way here and we are going to prepare over the next few months to prove that we belong. We are so excited to finally have a home tie after being on the road all year. It will be really nice to have our home fans behind us and we are really looking forward to February."

The Canada-France tie will be held Feb. 10-12 at a site determined by Tennis Canada.

Canada has met France just once in Davis Cup play, a 5-0 win by the French way back in 1966.

The winner of the first-round tie will move on to the quarter-finals and is guaranteed a spot in the World Group in 2013. The loser will be forced to play a World Group playoff tie to keep its spot in the elite level .