Scrappy Scotland were denied a smash-and-grab win in Paris after France stormed back to claim a 19-16 win in both sides' final match before the World Cup.
Vern Cotter's side were erratic at the vital moments for most of the opening hour but a moment of class from skipper Greig Laidlaw set up Tommy Seymour to score.
However, the Dark Blues could not claim their first win at the Stade de France since 1999 as Philippe Saint-Andre's team finally breached the solid Scots defence with Noa Nakaitaci's late touchdown.
There was more drama at the end as the visitors opted against taking a penalty which would have handed them a draw as they instead chased a winning try.
Scotland arrived in Paris hoping to iron out any last-minute kinks before they kick-off their World Cup campaign against Japan in Gloucester on September 23.
However, the spotlight focused on New Zealand-born flanker John Hardie was a little more intense than those trained on the rest of the Dark Blues line-up following his controversial call-up.
The Kiwi's inclusion in Cotter's 31-man squad at the expense of John Barclay and Blair Cowan, just five weeks after touching down in Scotland for the first time, was branded a "disgrace" and the 27-year-old was under pressure to justify his inclusion.
A series of solid tackles showed there was wisdom in his selection.
The Scots started 2015 with six straight defeats but after finally injecting some much-needed momentum into their tournament preparations with back-to-back wins over Italy, they were keen to keep the feel-good factor rolling on against Les Bleus.
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