France held off a rousing Scotland comeback to return to winning ways with a 32-21 triumph in a thrilling Six Nations contest at the Stade de France this afternoon.
A remarkable opening to the match saw two red cards and two tries inside the opening 12 minutes, but while the dismissals were even at one each, both tries went the way of the home side.
A Thomas Ramos interception try then put France 19-0 ahead after just 20 minutes and left Scotland with a mountain to climb to keep their perfect start to the Championship alive.
Gregor Townsend's side almost scaled that mountain too, roaring back with two tries from Huw Jones either side of half time before Finn Russell added seven points of his own to cut the gap to four points heading into the final 10 minutes.
However, an overthrown Scotland lineout gifted the ball back to France at a key moment of the match and ultimately provided the basis for Gael Fickou to seal victory with a fourth try to clinch a bonus point for the hosts.
Having seen their record 14-match winning streak ended by Ireland in Dublin last time out, France began like a team determined to prove that loss was merely a blip and threatened to blow Scotland away in the early stages.
Romain Ntamack touched down after only five minutes, before Grant Gilchrist was shown a red card for a high tackle just two minutes later.
There were still less than 10 minutes on the clock when Ethan Dumortier also went over in the corner for France, leaving Scotland 12 points and a man down after a nightmare start.
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The scales looked like being balanced when Mohamed Haouas was also given his marching orders in the 11th minute for targeting the head of Scotland's Ben White - the first time in Six Nations history that two players had been sent off before half time.
Haouas also earned the unwanted distinction of becoming the first player to be sent off twice in the Six Nations - having also been red-carded against Scotland previously - although his dismissal did not halt France's scoring for long.
Just as Scotland were working their way into the game, Ramos picked off a pass and raced through for a third try of the opening 20 minutes to almost put the game beyond Townsend's men.
The attacking talent at the visitors' disposal meant that an incredible comeback was never quite out of the question, though, and Jones scored after 26 minutes and then again after 48 to raise Scottish hopes.
The boot of Ramos kept France out of immediate reach until Russell, who plays his club rugby in Paris, scored and converted his own try 12 minutes from time, reducing the deficit to four.
However, a wayward late lineout for Scotland relieved any pressure that could have built in the dying embers, with France keeping possession and crucially going over for a bonus-point try at the death to leave Fabien Galthie's men level on 10 points with Scotland and England after three games.
Les Bleus face a visit to Twickenham to take on England in round four, while Scotland host an Ireland side who are now the only remaining contenders to win the Grand Slam.
Barney Corkhill
