Breton is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of the insular branch instead of the continental grouping.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on Wednesday 11 March 1959 at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France, and hosted by French television presenter Jacqueline Joubert. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), the contest, originally known as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1959, was held in France following the country's victory at the 1958 contest with the song "Dors, mon amour", performed by André Claveau.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the 6th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Once again, the contest was held in the French seaside city of Cannes, having also hosted the 1959 edition. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), the contest was again held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès on Saturday 18 March 1961, becoming the first contest to take place on a Saturday evening, a tradition that has continued ever since. The show was directed by Marcel Cravenne and again hosted by Jacqueline Joubert, who had also hosted in 1959.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1989 was the 34th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 May 1989 in the Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne, Switzerland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Télévision suisse romande (TSR) on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, and presented by Jacques Deschenaux and Lolita Morena, the contest was held in Switzerland following the country's victory at the 1988 contest with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi" by Céline Dion.
Ys, also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ville d'Ys in French, is a mythical city on the coast of Brittany that was swallowed up by the ocean. Most versions of the legend place the city in the Baie de Douarnenez.
Denez Prigent is a Breton folk singer-songwriter of the gwerz and kan ha diskan styles of Breton music. From his debut at the age of 16, he was known for singing traditional songs a cappella, and has moved on to singing his own songs with techno music accompaniments. He has performed in France as well as internationally and has recorded seven studio and two live albums.
France has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 66 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956. France is one of only seven countries to be present at the first contest, and has been absent from only two contests in its history, missing the 1974 and 1982 contests. Along with Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, France is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to their participant broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). France has won the contest five times.
Monaco has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in 1959. The country's only win in the contest came in 1971, when Séverine performed "Un banc, un arbre, une rue". As a result, Monaco was expected to host the contest in 1972, but it ultimately declined. Monaco is the only microstate to have won the contest to date.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 with the song "Je veux donner ma voix" written by Pascal Graczyk, René Colombies, Gilles Arcens and Luigi Rutigliano. The song was performed by Nayah. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 organised the national final Eurovision 1999: la sélection in order to select the French entry for the 1999 contest in Jerusalem, Israel. Twelve songs competed in the national final on 2 March 1999 where "Je veux donner ma voix" performed by Nayah was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "On aura le ciel" written by Benoît Heinrich and Pierre Legay. The song was performed by Sofia Mestari. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 organised the national final Eurovision 2000: la sélection in order to select the French entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Fourteen songs competed in the national final on 15 February 2000 where "On aura le ciel" performed by Sofia Mestari was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote.
Laurent Amir Khlifa Khedider Haddad, better known as Amir Haddad or simply as Amir, is a French-Israeli singer and songwriter. He took part in 2006 in the Israeli music competition Kokhav Nolad, released his album Vayehi in 2011 and was a finalist in French competition The Voice: la plus belle voix as part of Team Jenifer finishing third in the competition. He represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "J'ai cherché", which finished in sixth place.
Bilal Hassani is a French singer-songwriter and YouTuber. He represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Roi", finishing in 16th place.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the 2021 contest with the song "Zitti e buoni" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), the contest was held at the PalaOlimpico, and consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and a final on 14 May 2022. The three live shows were presented by Italian television presenter Alessandro Cattelan, Italian singer Laura Pausini and Lebanese-born British-French singer Mika.
Barbara Piévic, known professionally as Barbara Pravi, is a French singer and songwriter. After signing with Capitol Music France in 2015, she released five extended plays with the label. She represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Voilà", securing second place, the best result for France since 1991. Her debut album On n'enferme pas les oiseaux was released on 27 August 2021.
"Voilà" is a song by French singer Barbara Pravi, who co-wrote the song with Igit and Lili Poe. It was released for digital download and to streaming platforms on 6 November 2020. The song represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, placing second, after winning the pre-selection competition Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez! The single was certified Platinum (Global) in August 2021 and Gold (France) in April 2022. The song tells a personal story of Pravi's about self-acceptance.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Fulenn" performed by Alvan and Ahez. The French broadcaster France Télévisions organised the national final Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez ! in order to select the French entry for the 2022 contest. Twelve songs competed in the national final on 5 March 2022, where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting.
Ahez is a French vocal group from Carhaix, Brittany, consisting of Marine Lavigne, Sterenn Diridollou and Sterenn Le Guillou. The trio represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 together with Alvan with the song "Fulenn".
"Fulenn" is a song by French musician Alvan and the vocal group Ahez. It represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, after winning Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez !, the French national final. It is the second time that France has selected a song sung in Breton, a Celtic language spoken in the region of Brittany, to represent the country at Eurovision, the first having occurred in 1996.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Évidemment", written by Fatima Zahra Hafdi, Ahmed Saghir, Yannick Rastogi and Zacharie Raymond. The song was performed by La Zarra. The French broadcaster France Télévisions internally selected the French entry for the contest, delegated by the television channel France 2. La Zarra was officially announced by France 2 as the French entrant on 12 January 2023, and the song was presented to the public as the French entry on 19 February 2023, during the France 2 programme 20h30 le dimanche.
