France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Participating broadcasterFrance Télévisions
Country France
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)8 November 2023
Selected artist(s)Slimane
Selected song"Mon amour"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Meïr Salah
  • Slimane Nebchi
  • Yaacov Salah
Finals performance
Final result4th, 445 points
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2023 2024 2025►

France was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Mon amour", written by Slimane Nebchi, Yaacov Salah, and Meïr Salah and performed by Slimane. The French participating broadcaster France Télévisions internally selected its entry for the contest.

As a member of the "Big Five", France automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Background

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Prior to the 2024 contest, France Télévisions and its predecessor national broadcasters, have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing France sixty-five times since RTF's debut in the inaugural contest.[1] They first won the contest in 1958 with "Dors, mon amour" performed by André Claveau. In the 1960s, they won three times, with "Tom Pillibi" performed by Jacqueline Boyer in 1960, "Un premier amour" performed by Isabelle Aubret in 1962, and "Un jour, un enfant" performed by Frida Boccara, who won in 1969 in a four-way tie with the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Their fifth – and so far latest – victory came in 1977 with "L'oiseau et l'enfant" performed by Marie Myriam. France has also finished second five times, with Paule Desjardins in 1957, Catherine Ferry in 1976, Joëlle Ursull in 1990, Amina in 1991 (who lost out to Sweden's Carola in a tie-break), and Barbara Pravi in 2021. In the 21st century, France has had less success, only making the top ten five times, with Natasha St-Pier finishing fourth in 2001, Sandrine François finishing fifth in 2002, Patricia Kaas finishing eighth in 2009, Amir finishing sixth in 2016, and Pravi finishing second in 2021 with 499 points. In 2023, it finished in 16th place with the song "Évidemment" performed by La Zarra.[1]

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, France Télévisions organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country through France 2. The French broadcasters have used both national finals and internal selections to choose their entries in the past. In 2021 and 2022, the broadcaster selected its entries via the national final Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez !,[2] a format which was also planned to be held in 2023 but was ultimately cancelled in favour of an internal selection.[3] In June 2023, France Télévisions confirmed its intention to participate in the 2024 contest.[4]

Before Eurovision

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Internal selection

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On 8 November 2023, France Télévisions announced that it had internally selected Slimane with the song "Mon amour" as the French entrant for the 2024 contest.[5] The song, composed by Slimane with Yaacov and Meïr Salah, was presented to the public on the same day, during the evening news bulletin Journal de 20 heures hosted by Anne-Sophie Lapix on France 2.[6][7]

Promotion

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As part of the promotion of his participation in the contest, Slimane attended the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024, the Barcelona Eurovision Party on 6 April 2024, the London Eurovision Party on 7 April 2024, the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024, and the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 14 2024.[8][9] On 22 February 2024, he performed during the first semi-final of the Croatian national final; on 22 March 2024, he was a guest on the Italian TV show La volta buona [it], broadcast on Rai 1;[10][11][12] on 9 April 2024, he performed during the fourth live show of the Francophone Belgian edition of The Voice, broadcast on La Une.[13]

At Eurovision

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The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 took place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", France automatically qualified to compete in the final on 11 May 2024, but was also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 30 January 2024, when it was announced that France would be voting in the second semi-final.[14][15] Despite being an automatic qualifier for the final, the French entry was also performed during the semi-final.[16] On 4 May 2024, a draw was held to determine which half of the final each "Big Five" country would perform in; France drew to perform in the second half of the show.[17]

In France, the semi-finals were broadcast on Culturebox [fr], with commentary by Nicky Doll, while the final aired on France 2, with commentary by Stéphane Bern and Laurence Boccolini; live streaming of the shows was also available on the broadcaster's online platform france.tv [fr].[18][19] In addition, as part of the Eurovision programming, France Télévisions cooperated with DR and SVT alongside other EBU member broadcasters – namely ARD/WDR, the BBC, ČT, ERR, NRK, NTR, RÚV, VRT and Yle – to produce and air a documentary titled ABBA – Against the Odds, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sweden's first victory at the contest with "Waterloo" by ABBA.[20][21]

Performance

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Slimane took part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May.[22] In his performance of "Mon amour" at the contest, he sings the final chorus a cappella.[23]

Final

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On 4 May 2024, a draw was held to determine which half of the final each "Big Five" country would perform in; France drew to perform in the second half of the show.[17] France will perform in position 25, following the entry from Georgia and before the entry from Austria.[24]

Voting

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Below is a breakdown of points awarded to and by France in the second semi-final and in the final. Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting in the final vote, while the semi-final vote was based entirely on the vote of the public.[25] The French jury consisted of Valérie Dissaux, Élise Mollet, Fanny Llado, Pierre Suppa, and Sébastien Surel D'Assigny.[26] In the final, France placed 4th with 445 points, receiving twelve points from Armenia in the televote, and from Armenia, Belgium, Iceland and Slovenia in the jury vote. Over the course of the contest, France awarded its 12 points to Israel in the second semi-final and in the televote at the final, and to Portugal in the jury vote at the final.[27][28]

France Télévisions appointed Natasha St-Pier, who represented France in the 2001 contest, as its spokesperson to announce the French jury's votes in the final.[29]

Points awarded to France

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Points awarded to France (Final)[28]
Score Televote Jury
12 points  Armenia
10 points
8 points  Serbia
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by France

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Detailed voting results

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Each participating broadcaster assembles a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[30] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

The following members comprised the French jury:[26]

Detailed voting results from France (Semi-final 2)[27]
Draw Country Televote
Rank Points
01  Malta 10 1
02  Albania 15
03  Greece 7 4
04   Switzerland 3 8
05  Czechia 14
06  Austria 11
07  Denmark 13
08  Armenia 2 10
09  Latvia 12
10  San Marino 16
11  Georgia 5 6
12  Belgium 6 5
13  Estonia 9 2
14  Israel 1 12
15  Norway 8 3
16  Netherlands 4 7
Detailed voting results from France (Final)[28]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points Rank Points
01  Sweden 3 17 16 14 10 11 22
02  Ukraine 5 7 1 1 19 2 10 3 8
03  Germany 1 2 15 7 4 3 8 16
04  Luxembourg 7 1 8 2 12 4 7 8 3
05  Netherlands[a] 10 9 10 15 7 14 N/A
06  Israel 17 11 5 16 2 8 3 1 12
07  Lithuania 9 15 14 8 5 10 1 12
08  Spain 19 13 13 13 11 17 9 2
09  Estonia 25 21 25 22 22 24 19
10  Ireland 12 14 21 17 20 18 11
11  Latvia 20 16 12 20 17 19 15
12  Greece 8 12 6 11 3 7 4 10 1
13  United Kingdom 18 23 17 21 21 21 23
14  Norway 22 6 11 6 18 13 17
15  Italy 16 8 9 9 8 12 7 4
16  Serbia 21 22 24 23 23 23 20
17  Finland 23 25 20 24 25 25 18
18  Portugal 2 4 7 5 1 1 12 6 5
19  Armenia 13 5 2 4 6 5 6 2 10
20  Cyprus 14 24 18 18 13 20 21
21   Switzerland 11 3 4 3 9 6 5 5 6
22  Slovenia 24 18 19 25 24 22 24
23  Croatia 15 10 3 10 15 9 2 4 7
24  Georgia 6 19 23 12 16 16 14
25  France
26  Austria 4 20 22 19 14 15 13

Notes

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  1. ^ The Netherlands was disqualified prior to the final.[31][32]

References

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  1. ^ a b "France". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Eurovision France 2022 : rendez-vous le 5 mars !". L'Eurovison au Quotidien (in French). 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Eurovision France 2023 : c'est vous qui décidez !". En Route Pour l'Eurovision (in French). 9 July 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  4. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (7 June 2023). "France: France 2 confirms participation at Eurovision 2024". ESCToday. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Slimane will represent France at Eurovision 2024". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  6. ^ Slimane [@SlimaneOff] (8 November 2023). "La chanson s'appelle « Mon amour ». Je l'ai écrite et composée avec mes inséparables Yaacov et Meir Salah" [The song's called "Mon amour". I've written it with my inseparable Yaacov and Meir Salah] (Tweet) (in French). Retrieved 8 November 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Papadopoulos, Giorgos (8 November 2023). "France: Slimane will sing 'Mon Amour' at Eurovision 2024!". Eurovisionfun. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  8. ^ Washak, James (30 January 2024). "France: Slimane Confirmed for London Eurovision Party 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  9. ^ Granger, Anthony (31 January 2024). "France: Slimane Eurovision Pre-Party Tour Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  10. ^ Dammacco, Beppe (19 March 2024). "Eurovsion 2024: Slimane sarà ospite da Caterina Balivo a 'La volta buona'" [Eurovsion [sic] 2024: Slimane will be a guest on Caterina Balivo's "La volta buona"]. Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  11. ^ Farren, Neil (20 March 2024). "France: Slimane Promotes in Italy". Eurovoix. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  12. ^ Dammacco, Beppe (21 March 2024). "Eurovision 2024: Slimane a 'La Volta Buona', l'ospitata slitta a domani" [Eurovision 2024: Slimane on "La Volta Buona", the appearance is put off until tomorrow]. Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  13. ^ Granger, Anthony (8 April 2024). "France: Slimane to Perform on The Voice Belgique". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  14. ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Major changes for Malmö: Big Five & Sweden perform LIVE in Semi-Finals and you can vote for longer". Eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Malmö Grand Finalists draw their halves in the running order". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Eurovision". France.tv (in French). France Télévisions. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  19. ^ Farren, Neil (26 March 2024). "France: Eurovision 2024 Broadcast Plans and Commentators Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  20. ^ "BBC One and iPlayer commission feature documentary ABBA: Against The Odds to celebrate 50 years since ABBA's Eurovision win". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Record number of EBU Members unite for new ABBA documentary". ebu.ch. EBU. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Rehearsal Schedule". Eurovisionworld. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  23. ^ Conte, Davide (2 May 2024). "France: All the Details About Slimane's First Rehearsal". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Eurovision 2024: The Grand Final running order". Eurovoix. 9 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Voting Procedures 2024". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Grand Final of Malmö 2024 – Jurors". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  27. ^ a b c "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Malmö 2024 – France". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  28. ^ a b c d "Results of the Final of Malmö 2024 – France". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  29. ^ Andersson, Rafaell (4 May 2024). "France: Natasha St-Pier Announced as Spokesperson for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  30. ^ "How the Eurovision Song Contest works". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Statement on Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  32. ^ "How do I vote for my favourite Eurovision song?". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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