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Scotland could not end their 16-year wait for a win in Paris despite Dougie Fife scoring the only try as they went down 15-8 to France in their Six Nations opener.
Camille Lopez proved to be the match-winner with five penalties - three in the first half and two after the break.
The Scots countered with a Greig Laidlaw kick before Fife's touchdown on the stroke of half-time.
But when the skipper hit the woodwork with his conversion attempt, the hosts clung on to a slender half-time lead and did not give the Dark Blues a sniff from then on in.
There was barely a minute on the clock when Cowan gifted the hosts an early penalty, with Lopez scoring with the help of a post, but the Scots did not look fazed by the mistake and dug in to repel a couple of French surges.
Russell settled well, selling Lopez a lovely dummy, while Richie Gray took the initiative with some decent carries before a collapsed scrum allowed skipper Greig Laidlaw to level things with the Dark Blues' opening penalty.
Les Bleus - or Les Rouges as they have been dubbed - immediately swarmed back up field from the kick-off to score another penalty, but the Dark Blue response was first class.
They muscled up field and, after pushing to within a yard of the whitewash, kept their composure to feed the ball wide for Mike Bennett and then Euan Murray, who kept it simple as he made sure Fife dived over in the corner
France clung on for a slender 9-8 half-time lead, however, as Laidlaw's conversion hit the upright.
The hosts steadied themselves as the game restarted and were able to extend their lead when Scotland's try scorer suffered a rush of blood to the head.
Fife tried and failed to keep Lopez's kick for touch in and after slumping to his backside petulantly threw the ball away. Welsh referee Nigel Owens was not amused - neither was Fife as Lopez
nailed the penalty given against him.
Scotland hopes of overhauling the four-point deficit were hit, though, when they lost Johnnie Beattie to the sin-bin with just under 20 minutes left.
The Castres number eight was punished for clattering into the side of a ruck as France pressed into the Scots' 22, and it was the last thing Cotter's team needed as they chased a historic win in the French capital.
Another Lopez penalty then put daylight between the teams and ensured Scotland would have to wait until the summer - when they return in World Cup warm-up action - to put right their Parisian track record.
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