His move comes in the wake of club-mate Rob Dewey and Borders wing Simon Danielli securing moves to Ulster, and they will be followed out of Scotland by a host of internationals.

Taylor, who won his 51st cap in Saturday's defeat to Italy in the RBS 6 Nations, has signed a three-year contract with Stade Francais.

News of the 27-year-old's departure will infuriate Edinburgh, whose chairman Alex Carruthers claimed Taylor would have been "discourteous" and "silly" if he had held talks with the French club.

According to Stade, Taylor met with club president Max Guazzini "on several occasions".

While Taylor makes plans to leave at the end of the season, Edinburgh centre Ben Cairns has signed a new two-year deal with the Edinburgh club.

Cairns has played in five positions in his first season as a professional, scoring five tries in 16 games, after working his way through the Edinburgh youth ranks.

Last week the 21-year-old made his first appearance for Scotland A in the 13-7 victory over Italy at McDiarmid Park.

He said: "I'm really happy to have signed with Edinburgh again.

"This season could not have gone any better and hopefully next season will carry on in the same vein.

"I'm an Edinburgh boy so I'm really glad to be staying with Edinburgh."