The French duo, who were competing in the women's C1 and men's K1 respectively, were unable to make full use of their home advantage due to a lack of spectators. 

Yet this did not stop Marjorie Delassus from triumphing in the women's C1 heat in 113.36 seconds. 

Ana Sátila of Brazil recorded the second-fastest time of 115.72, followed by Ukraine's Viktoriia Us in 117.29.

"I’m so happy to get to start here in Pau, which is my home course," Delassus said.

"Today I was very relaxed."

Anatole Delassus won the men's K1 heat in 96.24, with Switzerland's Martin Dougoud second in 97.28 and Vavrinec Hradilek of the Czech Republic third in 97.81. 

Marie-Zélia Lafont of France edged it in the women's K1 heat, finishing in 108.32. 

Compatriot Lucie Baudu was just behind her in 108.98, with Czech Katerina Bekova coming in at 110.93. 

Ireland's Liam Jegou dominated in the men's C1 in 99.89, followed by Miquel Trave of Spain in 102.82 and Vaclav Chaloupka of the Czech Republic in 103.10. 

Competition is set to continue tomorrow with the K1 semi-finals and final, followed by the medal races in the C1 on Sunday (November 8), when competition concludes. 

Today's heats were unofficial, with every competitor already guaranteed a place in the semi-finals. 

It is just the second ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup leg to be staged in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.