France held off a spirited effort from Scotland to claim the Six Nations title with a 35-16 victory in Paris on Saturday.
Following England's 64-14 drubbing of Wales earlier in the day, France went into the match knowing only a win would do and they got the job done in front of an electric home crowd to win the championship.
While it would have been a significant upset had Scotland won, France were made to work for their first title since 2022.
Yoram Moefana opened the scoring after a well worked combination with centre partner Gael Fickou spilt the Scotland defence down the middle.
The try was needed from France's point of view after they dominated possession in the opening quarter.
However, it was far from smooth sailing from there. Peato Mauvaka was sent to the bin after making contact with the head of Scotland scrum-half Ben White during a scuffle on the ground.
Darcy Graham hit back for the visitors while France were a man down and started to apply pressure of their own.
Scotland soon levelled the score thanks to a penalty after a spate of ill-discipline from France.
They were reduced to 14 once more after conceding four straight penalty advantages, with prop Jean-Baptise Gros the next to be sent for a spell on the sideline.
Despite controlling the match at the start of the second half, Scotland conceded first after the break with Romain Ntamack pouncing on a loose ball deep inside his own half.
He evaded the chasing Graham long enough to hand the ball off to superstar 21-year-old Louis Bielle-Biarrey who steamed away for his customary try.
It turned into a scrappy-yet-entertaining affair but France, determined to add a second Six Nations crown to their 2022 title, kicked the door down once more, spinning the ball wide off a lineout for Thomas Ramos to stroll through.
The kick took the score to 30-16 and they dared to dream. Moefana soon added another as Scotland's gallant challenge faded.
"It's a relief to win after two years seeing the others lift trophies," Ramos said. "There was a lot of stress at the beginning of the game. The halftime break did us good."
Coach Fabien Galthié praised his side's response to a tough Scottish challenge.
"It was a very difficult game, it's not a scenario we had anticipated. But the team reacted well and we won scoring four tries again," he said.
For France's so called "golden generation" it's a much needed title and brings some more redemption after a disappointing 2024 Six Nations and the heartbreak of of their semifinal loss in the 2023 World Cup.
