Over the course of April and May, on the lead up to the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, we will be celebrating the countries that are participating this year in Rotterdam. Today, we celebrate France.

France debuted at the Contest in 1956, in Lugano, Switzerland. Mathé Altéry took part with her entry “Le temps perdu”, while Dany Dauberson took part with her entry “Il est là”. Scoring at the inaugural Contest was kept secret and video footage no longer exits.

The most successful entry from France was in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969 and 1977. In 1958, when the Contest took place in Hilversum, the Netherlands, André Claveau finished in first place with his entry “Dors, mon amour”, scoring 27 points.

In 1960, when the Contest took place in London, the United Kingdom, Jacqueline Boyer finished in first place with her entry “Tom Pillibi”, scoring 32 points.

In 1962, when the Contest took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, Isabelle Aubret finished in first place with her entry “Un premier amour”, scoring 26 points.

In 1969, when the Contest took place in Madrid, Spain, Frida Boccara finished in joint first place with her entry “Un jour, un enfant”, scoring 18 points.

In 1977, when the Contest took place in London, the United Kingdom, Marie Myriam finished in first place with their entry “L’oiseau et l’enfant”, scoring 136 points. This included three sets of twelve points from Finland, Germany and Switzerland.

The most recent French entry was due to be in 2020, when the cancelled Contest was due to take place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Tom Leeb was due to represent France with his entry “Mon alliée (The Best in Me)”.

This year, France will be represented by Barbara Pravi with her song “Voilà”. Will Barbara Pravi take France to their sixth victory?

Join us later on, as we celebrate Germany’s participation at the Eurovision Song Contest. Let us know what you think about the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovision Ireland