A Thomas Ramos penalty in the 79th minute denied Scotland a draw in Paris.
Replacement George Horne had darted down the blindside and put in a delightful little grubber which Kyle Steyn raced onto and finished in the corner.
Captain Finn Russell fired the conversion wide to leave the scores 27-27.
But Rory Sutherland was pinged at the next scrum and Ramos stepped up to put France back in the lead. Scotland kept fighting but ultimately came up short.
Steyn had got Scotland off to a flier with a try after five minutes before France took control with three tries to be coasting at 27-10.
But just as at Murrayfield last weekend, Scotland rallied and hit back with three late tries from Steyn, Duhan van der Merwe and Jamie Ritchie to show they will be genuine contenders at the World Cup next month.
