The clash in Ljublajna was closely contested until the end of the third quarter, when France went on a 14-0 run which kept their opponents scoreless for three minutes.
The advantage was a comfortable 22 points with three minutes remaining in the third quarter and Lithuania never threatened a comeback in the fourth.
The victory ended France's long wait for one of the big international titles. They have twice finished as silver medallists in the Olympics and also finished as European runners-up two times.
"Today we had a chance to win but they were better than us. We didn't do anything to give ourselves a chance to win," said Lithuanian veteran Robertas Javtokas.
Commenting on the result of the final game, the Lithuanian coach Jonas Kazlauskas said: "If you had asked me before the championship, I would have said that the second place is a very good result. However, when you are so close and lose in the final, then it all looks different."
