France has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 65 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 being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). France has won the contest five times.
Marie Myriam (born Myriam Lopes, 8 May 1957, Luluabourg, Belgian Congo, is a French singer of Portuguese descent.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song with the song "Il était temps" written by Corneille Nyungura and Virginie Pouchain. The song was performed by Virginie Pouchain.
"L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 performed in French by Marie Myriam, who represented France. The song was composed by Jean-Paul Cara and written by Joe Gracy. This is currently the last song to have won for France.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Chacun pense à soi" written by Ortal and Saad Tabainet. The song was performed by Ortal. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 organised the national final Un candidat pour l’Eurovision in order to select the French entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Five songs competed in the national final on 15 March 2005 where "Chacun pense à soi" performed by Ortal was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "À chaque pas" written by Ben "Jammin" Robbins, Steve Balsamo and Jonatan Cerrada. The song was performed by Jonatan Cerrada. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. Jonatan Cerrada was officially announced by France 3 as the French entrant on 9 February 2004 and later "Laissez-moi le temps" was announced as the French entry on 11 February 2004. On 22 February 2004, France 3 announced that Cerrada would perform a new song at the Eurovision Song Contest and "À chaque pas" was presented to the public as the new contest entry during a live performance by Cerrada on 22 March 2004 during the France 3 programme Symphonic Show.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "L'amour à la française" written by Ivan Callot, Paul Léger and Laurent Honel. The song was performed by les Fatals Picards. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channels France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5 and RFO organised the national final Eurovision 2007 : et si on gagnait ? in order to select the French entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. Ten songs competed in the national final on 6 March 2007 where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, two entries were selected to advance to the second round following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the second round, "L'amour à la française" performed by les Fatals Picards was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from the jury and public vote.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Divine" written and performed by Sébastien Tellier. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French contest entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. "Divine" was officially presented to the public by France 3 as the French entry on 7 March 2008.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Et s'il fallait le faire" written by Fred Blondin and Anse Lazio. The song was performed by Patricia Kaas. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Patricia Kaas was officially announced by France 3 as the French entrant on 28 January 2009 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry on 1 February 2009.
France was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, Ireland.
Michèle Torr is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Monts et merveilles" written by Hocine Hallaf. The song was performed by Louisa Baïleche. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. "Monts et merveilles" was officially presented to the public by France 3 as the French entry on 7 March 2003 during the France 3 programme Le Fabuleux Destin de....
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Sognu" written by Daniel Moyne, Quentin Bachelet and Jean-Pierre Marcellesi. The song was performed by Amaury Vassili. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Amaury Vassili was officially announced by France 3 as the French entrant on 4 February 2011 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry during a live performance by Vassili on 7 March 2011 during the France 3 programme Chabada.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Echo " written by William Rousseau, Jean-Pierre Pilot and Anggun. The song was performed by Anggun. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Anggun was officially announced by France 3 as the French entrant on 29 November 2011 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry during a press conference on 29 January 2012.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "L'enfer et moi" written by Boris Bergman and David Salkin. The song was performed by Amandine Bourgeois. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. "L'enfer et moi" was officially announced by France 3 as the French entry on 22 January 2013 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry on 13 March 2013.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Moustache" written by Pierre Beyres, Kim N'Guyen, Lorent Idir and François Ardouvin. The song was performed by the band Twin Twin. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 organised a national final in order to select the French entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Three songs competed in the national final which took place during the France 3 programme Les chansons d'abord. On 2 March 2014, "Moustache" performed by Twin Twin was officially announced by France 3 as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "N'oubliez pas" written by Moïse Albert, Michel Illouz and Laure Izon. The song was performed by Lisa Angell. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 2 internally selected the French entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. "N'oubliez pas" was officially announced by France 2 as the French entry on 23 January 2015 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry during a live performance by Angell on 28 February 2015 during the France 2 programme Chico And The Gypsies, Le Grand Show.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Mercy" written by Émilie Satt and Jean-Karl Lucas. The song is performed by the French duo Madame Monsieur. The French entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected through the national selection Destination Eurovision, organised by the French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 2. The selection consisted of two semi-finals and a final. Madame Monsieur became the winner, placing third with the international juries but winning a landslide share of the vote from the French public, amassing enough points to win the competition. This was the first time France used a national final since 2014.
France originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Mon alliée " written by Tom Leeb, Léa Ivanne, Amir Haddad, John Lundvik, Peter Boström and Thomas G:son. The song was performed by Tom Leeb. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 2 internally selected the French entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Tom Leeb was officially announced by France 2 as the French entrant on 14 January 2020 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry during a live performance by Leeb on 16 February 2020 during the France 2 programme 20H30 Le Dimanche.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Voilà" written by Barbara Pravi, Lili Poe and Igit. The song was performed by Barbara Pravi. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 2 organised the national final Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez ! in order to select the French entry for the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Twelve songs competed in the national final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, eight entries were selected to advance to the second round: seven entries selected a public vote and one entry selected by a ten-member jury panel. In the second round, "Voilà" performed by Barbara Pravi was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a ten-member jury panel and a public vote.
