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Defeat by Scotland in the Six Nations at the Stade de France would be a "humiliation" for France according to coach Marc Lievremont.

France lost their tournament opener 30-21 to Ireland at Croke Park but have not been beaten by Scotland since 1999.

"A home game against Scotland can be a banana skin because Scotland have not been a team to be scared of for several years and because our players need sometimes to fear and respect their opponents," Lievremont said.

"It would be a big mistake to underestimate the Scots because even if their recent results have been poor they have kept a good attitude. They have some highly skilled players and they are the least penalised team in the world.

"Last weekend, they were literally blown away by Wales but the Welsh are at the top of their game. If we are not tight as a team we will be in for a big disappointment.

"We must be careful because a defeat to Scotland at the Stade de France would be a true humiliation."

France's Six Nations squad cancelled a visit to the Moulin Rouge cabaret this week in a statement of intent that they will atone for last weekend's loss.

"We had planned to spend Wednesday evening at the Moulin Rouge. The booking was made," Lievremont added.

"On Sunday, we told the leaders of the team that we were ready to keep the evening out despite Saturday's defeat. They decided to stay in our training camp."

Lievremont said defeat in Dublin had been "a painful day" because despite high expectations, there was a feeling the French had given the game away through indiscipline and lack of combativeness.

Reuters