France in the Eurovision Song Contest

France has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 67 times since its debut at the first contest in Template:Escyr. 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 Template:Escyr and Template:Escyr contests. Since 2001, the French participating broadcaster is . Along with Template:Esccnty, Template:Esccnty, Template:Esccnty, and the Template:Esccnty, France is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to their participating broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). France has won the contest five times.

France first won the contest in Template:Escyr with "" performed by André Claveau. Three more victories followed in the 1960s, with "" performed by Jacqueline Boyer in Template:Escyr, "" performed by Isabelle Aubret in Template:Escyr and "" performed by Frida Boccara, who won in Template:Escyr in a four-way tie with the Template:Esccnty, Template:Esccnty, and the Template:Esccnty. France's fifth victory came in Template:Escyr, with the song "" performed by Marie Myriam. During its successful run in the 20th century, France has also finished second four times, with "" by Paule Desjardins (Template:Escyr), "" by Catherine Ferry (Template:Escyr), "White and Black Blues" by Joëlle Ursull (Template:Escyr), and "" by Amina (Template:Escyr), who lost out to Sweden's "" by Carola in a tie-break.

After reaching the top five in 23 contests in the 20th century, France has had less success in the 21st century, only making the top five four times, with "" by Natasha St-Pier (fourth in Template:Escyr), "" by Sandrine François (fifth in Template:Escyr), "" by Barbara Pravi (second in Template:Escyr), and "" by Slimane (fourth in Template:Escyr). France's other top 10 results in the century are "Et s'il fallait le faire" by Patricia Kaas (eighth in Template:Escyr), "" by Amir (sixth in Template:Escyr), and "" by Louane (seventh in 2025). France finished last for the first time in Template:Escyr, when "" by Twin Twin received only two points.

Organisation

Several national broadcasters have successively participated in the contest representing France over the years: (RTF; 1956–1964), (ORTF; 1965–1974), (TF1; 1975–1981), (1983–1992), and (1993–2000). Since 2001, is who participates representing France, with the final being broadcast on France 2 (1993–1998, 2015–present) and France 3 (1999–2014), and the semi-final which France votes in was broadcast on France 4 (2005–2010, 2016–2019), later France Ô (2011–2015) and since 2021, Template:Ill. The semi-final in 2004 was not broadcast; viewers who were close enough to Monaco were able to watch that year's semi-final via TMC Monte-Carlo. Radio coverage has been provided, although not every year or since 2013, by from 1971 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2012, (also in 1976). In 1982, RTL Radio transmitted the contest due to the country's absence that year.

The process to select the French entry in the contest has changed over the years, with either a national final or an internal selection (occasionally a combination of both formats) having been held.

Contest history

France is one of the most successful countries in Eurovision, winning the contest five times, coming second five times and coming third seven times. However, France has only hosted the contest three times (1959, 1961, and 1978). France was ranked first in number of victories (either alone or tied with other countries) without interruptions from 1960 to 1993. Moreover, "" performed by Amina was close to victory in Template:Escyr, when it finished in joint first place with the same number of points as Template:Esccnty. Therefore, the 'countback' rule applied, but both countries had an equal number of twelve points (four lots), but the victory went to Sweden, when France had fewer 10-point scores. With the current rules in place, France would have won the competition, because they received points from more countries than Sweden. One year before, France was also close to winning with "White and Black Blues" by Joëlle Ursull. The song finished in joint-second place with Template:Esccnty's entry.

However, in recent years, the French results have been mixed. Since 1998, when the televoting was introduced, France has frequently ranked in the bottom 10 countries in the final, coming 15th (Template:Esccnty), 18th (Template:Esccnty), 19th (Template:Esccnty and Template:Esccnty), 22nd (Template:Esccnty, Template:Esccnty, and Template:Esccnty), 23rd (Template:Esccnty, Template:Esccnty, and Template:Esccnty), 24th (Template:Esccnty and Template:Esccnty), 25th (Template:Esccnty), and 26th (last place, for the first time in its Eurovision history, in Template:Esccnty).

France has had some good results during the 21st century. In Template:Escyr, "" performed by Canadian singer Natasha St-Pier came fourth, being the favourite to win the contest by fans and odds. This good result was carried into the Template:Escyr, when "" by Sandrine François came fifth and received the Marcel Bezençon international press award for the best entry of that year. The positive experience with Sébastien Tellier in Template:Escyr created considerable interest among the French showbiz for the contest, which resulted in Eurovision being seen by the French media as a valuable advertising campaign. With these ambitions, Patricia Kaas represented France in the Template:Escyr with "", finishing in eighth place. Kaas received the Marcel Bezençon artistic award, which was voted on by previous winners and presented to the best artist. In the Template:Escyr, Amir with his song "" ended in sixth place and broke a 40-year record by scoring the most points in France's Eurovision history, by scoring 257 points in the final. That record would later be broken once again in Template:Escyr, as Barbara Pravi with her song "" finished in second place with 499 points, France's best result since 1991, only 25 points behind eventual winners Måneskin from Italy. Slimane finished in fourth place in Template:Escyr with "Mon amour", followed by Louane finishing seventh in Template:Escyr with "".

Absences

Since its debut in 1956, France has only missed two contests, in 1974 and 1982. In 1974, after selecting a singer and song to represent the country at the contest, France withdrew after the French president Georges Pompidou died in the week of the contest. If it had participated, France would have been represented by Dani with the song "".

In November 1981, TF1 declined to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for 1982, with the head of entertainment, Pierre Bouteiller, saying, "The absence of talent and the mediocrity of the songs were where annoyance set in. Eurovision is a monument to inanity [sometimes translated as "drivel"]." took over due to the public reaction to TF1's withdrawal, hosting a national final to select the French entry as well, from the 1983 contest.

France and the "Big Five"

Since 1999, France, along with Template:Esccnty, Template:Esccnty, and the Template:Esccnty, have automatically qualified for the Eurovision final regardless of their results in previous contests. The participating broadcasters from these countries earned this special status by being the four biggest financial contributors to the EBU, and subsequently became known as the "Big Four". Template:Esccnty returned to the contest in 2011, resulting in the countries becoming members of a "Big Five".

Participation overview

Table key

1	First place
2	Second place
3	Third place
◁	Last place
X	Entry selected but did not compete
†	Upcoming event

Year	Artist	Song	Language	Final	Points	Semi	Points
Template:Escyr	Mathé Altéry	""	French	rowspan="2" Template:N/ATemplate:Efn	rowspan="2" Template:N/ATemplate:Efn	colspan="2" rowspan="37" Template:N/A
	Dany Dauberson	""	French
Template:Escyr	Paule Desjardins	""	French	2	17
Template:Escyr	André Claveau	""	French	1	27
Template:Escyr	Jean Philippe	""	French	3	15
Template:Escyr	Jacqueline Boyer	""	French	1	32
Template:Escyr	Jean-Paul Mauric	""	French	4	13
Template:Escyr	Isabelle Aubret	""	French	1	26
Template:Escyr	Alain Barrière	""	French	5	25
Template:Escyr	Rachel	""	French	4	14
Template:Escyr	Guy Mardel	""	French	3	22
Template:Escyr	Dominique Walter	""	French	16	1
Template:Escyr	Noëlle Cordier	""	French	3	20
Template:Escyr	Isabelle Aubret	""	French	3	20
Template:Escyr	Frida Boccara	""	French	1	18
Template:Escyr	Guy Bonnet	""	French	4	8
Template:Escyr	Serge Lama	""	French	10	82
Template:Escyr	Betty Mars	""	French	11	81
Template:Escyr	Martine Clémenceau	""	French	15	65
Template:Escyr	Dani	""	French	colspan="2" Template:N/A X
Template:Escyr	Nicole	""	French	4	91
Template:Escyr	Catherine Ferry	""	French	2	147
Template:Escyr	Marie Myriam	""	French	1	136
Template:Escyr	Joël Prévost	""	French	3	119
Template:Escyr	Anne-Marie David	""	French	3	106
Template:Escyr		""	French	11	45
Template:Escyr	Jean Gabilou	""	French	3	125
Template:Escyr	Guy Bonnet	""	French	8	56
Template:Escyr	Annick Thoumazeau	""	French	8	61
Template:Escyr	Roger Bens	""	French	10	56
Template:Escyr	Cocktail Chic	""	French	17	13
Template:Escyr	Christine Minier	""	French	14	44
Template:Escyr	Gérard Lenorman	""	French	10	64
Template:Escyr	Nathalie Pâque	""	French	8	60
Template:Escyr	Joëlle Ursull	""	French	2	132
Template:Escyr	Amina	""	French	2	146
Template:Escyr	Kali	""	French, Antillean Creole	8	73
Template:Escyr	Patrick Fiori	""	French, Corsican	4	121	colspan="2" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Nina Morato	""	French	7	74	colspan="2" rowspan="2" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Nathalie Santamaria	""	French	4	94
Template:Escyr	Dan Ar Braz and	""	Breton	19	18	11	55
Template:Escyr	Fanny	""	French	7	95	colspan="2" rowspan="7" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Marie Line	""	French	24	3
Template:Escyr	Nayah	""	French	19	14
Template:Escyr	Sofia Mestari	""	French	23	5
Template:Escyr	Natasha St-Pier	""	French, English	4	142
Template:Escyr	Sandrine François	""	French	5	104
Template:Escyr	Louisa Baïleche	""	French	18	19
Template:Escyr	Jonatan Cerrada	""	French, Spanish	15	40	colspan="2" rowspan="7" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Ortal	""	French	23	11
Template:Escyr	Virginie Pouchain	""	French	22	5
Template:Escyr	Les Fatals Picards	""	French, English ("Franglais")	22	19
Template:Escyr	Sébastien Tellier	""	English	19	47
Template:Escyr	Patricia Kaas	""	French	8	107
Template:Escyr	Jessy Matador	""	French	12	82
Template:Escyr	Amaury Vassili	""	Corsican	15	82	colspan="2" rowspan="16" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Anggun	""	French, English	22	21
Template:Escyr	Amandine Bourgeois	""	French	23	14
Template:Escyr	Twin Twin	""	French	26 ◁	2
Template:Escyr	Lisa Angell	""	French	25	4
Template:Escyr	Amir	""	French, English	6	257
Template:Escyr	Alma	""	French, English	12	135
Template:Escyr		"Mercy"	French	13	173
Template:Escyr	Bilal Hassani	""	French, English	16	105
Template:Escyr	Tom Leeb	"Mon alliée (The Best in Me)"	French, English	colspan="2" Template:N/ATemplate:Efn X
Template:Escyr	Barbara Pravi	""	French	2	499
Template:Escyr	Alvan and Ahez	""	Breton	24	17
Template:Escyr	La Zarra	""	French	16	104
Template:Escyr	Slimane	""	French	4	445
Template:Escyr	Louane	""	French	7	230
Template:Escyr	Confirmed intention to participate †

Hostings

Year	Location	Venue	Presenters
Template:Escyr	Cannes	Palais des Festivals	Jacqueline Joubert
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Paris	Palais des Congrès	Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

Year	Category	Song	Composer(s) lyrics (l) / music (m)	Performer	Final	Points	Host city	Ref.
Template:Escyr	Press Award	""	Rick Allison (m), Patrick Bruel (m&l), Marie-Florence Gros (l)	Sandrine François	5	104	Template:Flagicon Tallinn
Template:Escyr	Artistic AwardTemplate:Efn	""	Anse Lazio (m&l), Fred Blondin (m&l)	Patricia Kaas	8	107	Template:Flagicon Moscow
Template:Escyr	Composer Award	""	Daniel Moyne (m), Quentin Bachelet (m), Jean-Pierre Marcellesi (l), Julie Miller (l)	Amaury Vassili	15	82	Template:Flagicon Düsseldorf
Template:Escyr	Press Award	"Mercy"	Émilie Satt (m&l), Jean-Karl Lucas (m&l)	Madame Monsieur	13	173	Template:Flagicon Lisbon
Template:Escyr	Press Award Artistic AwardTemplate:Efn	""	Barbara Pravi (m&l), Lili Poe (l), Igit (m)	Barbara Pravi	2	499	Template:Flagicon Rotterdam
Template:Escyr	Press Award Artistic AwardTemplate:Efn	""	Louane (m&l), Tristan Salvati (m)	Louane	7	230	Template:Flagicon Basel

Winner by OGAE members

Year	Song	Performer	Final	Points	Host city	Ref.
Template:Escyr	""	Amir	6	257	Template:Flagicon Stockholm

Related involvement

Conductors

Year	ConductorTemplate:Efn	Musical Director	Notes	Ref.
Template:Escyr	Franck Pourcel	rowspan="3" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Franck Pourcel		Template:Efn
Template:Escyr	Franck Pourcel	Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Franck Pourcel		Template:Efn
Template:Escyr	Franck Pourcel	rowspan="16" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Alain Goraguer
Template:Escyr	Franck Pourcel
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Jean Claudric
Template:Escyr	Jean-Claude Petit	Template:Efn
Template:Escyr	Jean Musy
Template:Escyr	Tony Rallo
Template:Escyr	Raymond Donnez
Template:Escyr	Alain Goraguer	François Rauber
Template:Escyr	Guy Matteoni	rowspan="19" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Template:Flagicon Sylvano Santorio	Template:Efn
Template:Escyr	David Sprinfield
Template:Escyr	François Rauber
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Michel Bernholc	Template:Efn
Template:Escyr	Jean-Claude Petit
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Guy Matteoni
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Régis Dupré
Template:Escyr	Jérôme Pillement
Template:Escyr	Magdi Vasco Noverraz
Template:Escyr	Christian Cravero
Template:Escyr	Alain Goraguer
Template:Escyr	Michel Bernholc
Template:Escyr	Template:Flagicon Fiachra Trench
Template:Escyr	Régis Dupré
Template:Escyr	Template:Flagicon Martin Koch	Host conductorTemplate:Efn
Template:Escyr	rowspan="2" colspan="2" Template:N/A	Template:Efn
Template:Escyr

Heads of delegation

Year	Head of delegation	Ref.
Template:Escyr–Template:Escyr	Bruno Berberes
Template:Escyr–Template:Escyr	Frederic Valencak
Template:Escyr–Template:Escyr	Edoardo Grassi
Template:Escyr	Steven Clerima
Template:Escyr–present	Alexandra Redde-Amiel

Commentators and spokespersons

Since its debut in 1956, French broadcasters has sent commentators to provide coverage on the contest, including Robert Beauvais and Léon Zitrone. During the 1960s, its commentators was relayed in Luxembourg, Monaco, and French-speaking Switzerland.

Year	Commentator		Spokesperson	Ref.
	Final	Semi-final
Template:Escyr	Michelle Rebel	rowspan="48" Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Robert Beauvais	Claude Darget
Template:Escyr	Pierre Tchernia	Armand Lanoux
Template:Escyr	Claude Darget	Marianne Lecène
Template:Escyr	Pierre Tchernia	Armand Lanoux
Template:Escyr	Robert Beauvais
Template:Escyr	Pierre Tchernia	André Valmy
Template:Escyr		Armand Lanoux
Template:Escyr	Robert Beauvais	Jean-Claude Massoulier
Template:Escyr	Pierre Tchernia
Template:Escyr	François Deguelt
Template:Escyr	Pierre Tchernia
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Georges de Caunes	rowspan="3" Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Pierre Tchernia
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr		Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Georges de Caunes	Marc Menant
Template:Escyr	Jean-Claude Massoulier
Template:Escyr	Georges de Caunes
Template:Escyr	Léon Zitrone	Patrice Laffont
Template:Escyr	Marc Menant	Fabienne Égal
Template:Escyr	Patrick Sabatier
Template:Escyr		Denise Fabre
Template:Escyr	Andre Torrent	Template:N/A
Template:Escyr	Léon Zitrone	Nicole André
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Patrice Laffont	Clémentine Célarié
Template:Escyr		Patricia Lesieur
Template:Escyr	Patrick Simpson-Jones	Lionel Cassan
Template:Escyr	Lionel Cassan	Catherine Ceylac
Template:Escyr		Marie-Ange Nardi
Template:Escyr	Richard Adaridi	Valérie Maurice
Template:Escyr	Léon Zitrone	Daniela Lumbroso
Template:Escyr	Thierry Beccaro	Olivier Minne
Template:Escyr	Patrice Laffont
Template:Escyr		Laurent Romejko
Template:Escyr	Olivier Minne	Thierry Beccaro
Template:Escyr		Laurent Broomhead
Template:Escyr		Frédéric Ferrer and Marie Myriam
Template:Escyr	Chris Mayne, Laura Mayne	Marie Myriam
Template:Escyr	Julien Lepers
Template:Escyr
Template:Escyr	Marc-Olivier Fogiel, Dave	Corinne Hermès
Template:Escyr		Marie Myriam
Template:Escyr	Laurent Ruquier, Isabelle Mergault	Sandrine François
Template:Escyr	Laurent Ruquier, Elsa Fayer	Template:N/A	Alex Taylor
Template:Escyr	Julien Lepers, Guy Carlier	Peggy Olmi	Marie Myriam
Template:Escyr	Michel Drucker, Claudy Siar	Peggy Olmi, Eric Jean-Jean	Sophie Jovillard
Template:Escyr	Julien Lepers, Tex	Peggy Olmi, Yann Renoard	Vanessa Dolmen
Template:Escyr	Julien Lepers, Jean-Paul Gaultier		Cyril Hanouna
Template:Escyr	Cyril Hanouna, Julien Courbet		Yann Renoard
Template:Escyr	Cyril Hanouna, Stéphane Bern		Audrey Chauveau
Template:Escyr	Laurent Boyer, Catherine Lara	Audrey Chauveau, Bruno Berberes	Cyril Féraud
Template:Escyr	Cyril Féraud, Mireille Dumas		Amaury Vassili
Template:Escyr			Marine Vignes
Template:Escyr	Cyril Féraud, Natasha St-Pier		Elodie Suigo
Template:Escyr	Stéphane Bern, Marianne James	Mareva Galanter, Jérémy Parayre	Virginie Guilhaume
Template:Escyr		Marianne James, Jarry	Élodie Gossuin
Template:Escyr	Stéphane Bern, Marianne James, Amir
Template:Escyr	Stéphane Bern, Christophe Willem, Alma	Christophe Willem, André Manoukian
Template:Escyr	Stéphane Bern, André Manoukian	Sandy Héribert, André Manoukian	Julia Molkhou
Template:Escyr	Stéphane Bern, Laurence Boccolini	Laurence Boccolini	Carla
Template:Escyr			Élodie Gossuin
Template:Escyr		Anggun, André Manoukian	Anggun
Template:Escyr		Nicky Doll	Natasha St-Pier
Template:Escyr		Stéphane Bern	Template:Ill

Photo gallery

• André Claveau in Hilversum (Template:Escyr)
  André Claveau in Hilversum (Template:Escyr)
• Guy Mardel in Naples (Template:Escyr)
  Guy Mardel in Naples (Template:Escyr)
• Dan Ar Braz in Oslo (Template:Escyr)
  Dan Ar Braz in Oslo (Template:Escyr)
• Jonatan Cerrada in Istanbul (Template:Escyr)
  Jonatan Cerrada in Istanbul (Template:Escyr)
• Les Fatals Picards in Helsinki (Template:Escyr)
  Les Fatals Picards in Helsinki (Template:Escyr)
• Sébastien Tellier in Belgrade (Template:Escyr)
  Sébastien Tellier in Belgrade (Template:Escyr)
• Patricia Kaas in Moscow (Template:Escyr)
  Patricia Kaas in Moscow (Template:Escyr)
• Jessy Matador in Oslo (Template:Escyr)
  Jessy Matador in Oslo (Template:Escyr)
• Amaury Vassili in Düsseldorf (Template:Escyr)
  Amaury Vassili in Düsseldorf (Template:Escyr)
• Anggun in Baku (Template:Escyr)
  Anggun in Baku (Template:Escyr)
• Amandine Bourgeois in Malmö (Template:Escyr)
  Amandine Bourgeois in Malmö (Template:Escyr)
• Twin Twin in Copenhagen (Template:Escyr)
  Twin Twin in Copenhagen (Template:Escyr)
• Lisa Angell in Vienna (Template:Escyr)
  Lisa Angell in Vienna (Template:Escyr)
• Amir in Stockholm (Template:Escyr)
  Amir in Stockholm (Template:Escyr)
• Alma in Kyiv (Template:Escyr)
  Alma in Kyiv (Template:Escyr)
• Madame Monsieur in Lisbon (Template:Escyr)
  Madame Monsieur in Lisbon (Template:Escyr)
• Bilal Hassani in Tel Aviv (Template:Escyr)
  Bilal Hassani in Tel Aviv (Template:Escyr)
• La Zarra in Liverpool (Template:Escyr)
  La Zarra in Liverpool (Template:Escyr)
• Slimane in Malmö (Template:Escyr)
  Slimane in Malmö (Template:Escyr)
• Louane in Basel (Template:Escyr)
  Louane in Basel (Template:Escyr)

See also

• France in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.