Mermoz, who last played in the 41-13 loss to Argentina last summer, will line up in midfield alongside converted wing Aurelien Rougerie with Bayonne's Yoann Huget and Maxime Medard of Toulouse on the wings.
Francois Trinh-Duc returns at flyhalf, having missed the 59-16 drubbing at the hands of Australia in November due to injury, and will once again link up at scrumhalf with Morgan Parra.
In the pack, Imanol Harinordoquy returns at number eight with Racing Metro powerhouse Sebastien Chabal relegated to the bench, while former skipper Lionel Nallet is back at lock after injury.
In total eight players who played against Australia were retained in the starting line-up including Biarritz veteran Damian Traille who once again is on the move positionally - this time from flyhalf to fullback.
France are the reigning Six Nations champions having completed a Grand Slam of wins over the five other teams last year.
Teams:
France:
15-Damien Traille, 14-Yoann Huget, 13-Aurelien Rougerie, 12-Maxime Mermoz, 11-Maxime Medard, 10-Francois Trinh-Duc, 9-Morgan Parra, 8-Imanol Harinordoquy, 7-Julien Bonnaire, 6-Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5-Lionel Nallet, 4-Julien Pierre, 3-Nicolas Mas, 2-William Servat, 1-Thomas Domingo.
Substitutes: 16-Guilhem Guirado, 17-Luc Ducalcon, 18-Jerome Thion, 19-Sebastien Chabal, 20-Dimitri Yachvili, 21-David Skrela, 22-Clement Poitrenaud
Scotland:
15. Hugo Southwell, 14. Nikki Walker, 13. Joe Ansbro, 12. Nick De Luca, 11. Max Evans, 10. Dan Parks, 9. Rory Lawson, 8. Kelly Brown, 7. John Barclay, 6. Nathan Hines, 5. Alastair Kellock (captain), 4. Richie Gray, 3. Euan Murray, 2. Ross Ford, 1. Allan Jacobsen
Replacements: 16. Dougie Hall, 17. Moray Low, 18. Richie Vernon, 19. Ross Rennie, 20. Mike Blair, 21. Ruaridh Jackson, 22. Sean Lamont