France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Roi" by Bilal Hassani. The French entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel was selected through the national selection Destination Eurovision 2019, 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.

Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Country France
National selection
Selection processDestination Eurovision 2019
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
12 January 2019
19 January 2019
Final:
26 January 2019
Selected entrantBilal Hassani
Selected song"Roi"
Selected songwriter(s)Bilal Hassani
Madame Monsieur
Medeline
Finals performance
Final result16th, 105 points
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2018 • 2019 • 2020►

As a member of the "Big 5", France automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The final was watched by 2.14 million viewers, making Destination Eurovision 2019 the third most watched show on Saturday evening.[1]

Background
Main article: France in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2019 Contest, France had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-one times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in 1956.[2] France 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. France's fifth victory came in 1977, when Marie Myriam won with the song "L'oiseau et l'enfant". France have also finished second four times, with Paule Desjardins in 1957, Catherine Ferry in 1976, Joëlle Ursull in 1990 and Amina in 1991, who lost out to Sweden's Carola in a tie-break. Since 2000, France has managed to place within the top ten four times, with Natasha St-Pier finishing fourth in 2001, Sandrine François finishing fifth in 2002, Patricia Kaas finishing eighth in 2009 and Amir finishing sixth in 2016. In 2018, France was represented by Madame Monsieur and the song "Mercy". The country ended in thirteenth place with 173 points.

The French national broadcaster, France Télévisions, broadcasts the event within France and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the television channel France 2. The French broadcaster had used both national finals and internal selection to choose the French entry in the past. Between 2015 and 2017, the broadcaster had opted to internally select the French entry. In 2018, the broadcaster introduced the multi-artist competition format Destination Eurovision to select the French entry. In June 2018, France Télévisions announced that the Destination Eurovision format would be used again for the 2019 Contest.[3]

Before Eurovision

Destination Eurovision 2019

Destination Eurovision 2019 was the national final organised by France 2 to select France's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The competition consisted of three live shows, aired in January 2019 on France 2, which were hosted by French-Canadian singer Garou.[4] TV5 Québec Canada aired the shows in Canada on a time delay as did TV5Monde internationally.[5][6] All shows took place at the Studio de France - Bât 217 in Saint-Denis.

Format

The format of the competition consisted of three live shows: two semi-finals, and a final.[7] The two semi-finals featured nine entries each, from which four were selected to advance to the final from each show.

Results in the semi-finals were determined by public televoting (50%) and a five-members international jury panel (50%). Results in the final were determined by public televoting (50%) and a ten-members international jury panel (50%). An international jury member is set to vote in only semifinals. Therefore, twenty juries were involved in the voting this year.

Like the previous edition, the show featured a three-members Francophone jury panel to provide feedback. They did no longer have a say in the results of the contest.[4] The Francophone jury panel will consist of :

  • Christophe Willem – Singer, returning as a judge for the second consecutive year
  • André Manoukian – Jazz singer and former judge on Nouvelle Star, commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals in 2018 alongside Willem
  • Vitaa – Singer, French female artist with the most radio airplay in 2018, Destination Eurovision 2018 participant as a songwriter

Competing entries

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their song entries starting 21 June 2018.[3] On 6 December 2018, France 2 announced at a press conference at the headquarters of France Télévision the name of the 18 artists and songs selected to compete in the televised shows.[8]

Artist Song (English translation) Songwriter(s)
Aysat "Comme une grande" (Like a grown up) Aysat, Mohamed Zayana
Battista Acquaviva "Passiò" (Passion) Florent Bidoyen, Théodore Eristoff, Battista Acquaviva
Bilal Hassani "Roi" (King) Bilal Hassani, Madame Monsieur, Medeline
Chimène Badi "Là-haut" (Up there) Yseult, Yacine Azeggagh, Corson, Boban Apostolov
Doutson "Sois un bon fils" (Be a good son) Mamadou Niakate, Jean-Pascal Anziani, Ryad Bouchami, Caz B
Emmanuel Moire "La promesse" (The promise) Emmanuel Moire
Florina "In the Shadow" Manon Romiti, Silvio Lisonne, Pierre-Laurent Faure, Adrien Levron
Gabriella Laberge "On cherche encore (Never get enough)" (We're still searching) Gabriella Laberge, Christian Sbrocca, Richard Turcotte, Zander Howard Scott
Lautner "J'ai pas le temps" (I don't have the time) John Mamann, Johnny Goldstein, Koby Hass, Sophie Tapie
Mazy "Oulala" Julie Mazi
Naestro "Le brasier" (The blaze) Mark Hekic, Alexandra Maquet, Thierry Leteurtre
Noémie "Ma petite famille" (My little family) Cehashi, Noémie, Youssoupha
Philipelise "Madame la paix" (Madam Peace) Elise Philip, Guillaume Soulan
Seemone "Tous les deux" (The both of us) Fabrice Mantegna, Alexandre Mazarguil, Léa Simoncini
Silvàn Areg "Allez leur dire" (Go and tell them) Caz B, Mamadou Niakate, Erick Ness
The Divaz "La voix d'Aretha" (Aretha's voice) Yacine Azeggagh, Marielle Hervé
Tracy De Sá "Por aqui" (Around here) Tiery-F, Tracy De Sá
Ugo "Ce qui me blesse" (What hurts me) Ugo Benterfa, Vicken Sayrin

Shows
Semi-final 1

The first semi-final aired live on 12 January 2019.

Draw Artist[9] Song[9] Cover (Original artist) Jury Televote Total Place
1 Naestro "Le brasier" "Perfect" (Ed Sheeran) 12 8 20 9
2 Florina "In the Shadow" "L'hymne à l'amour" (Édith Piaf) 0 21 21 8
3 Chimène Badi "Là-haut" "Je ne regrette rien" (Édith Piaf) 22 44 66 2
4 Battista Acquaviva "Passiò" "Parla più piano" (Gianni Morandi) 2 29 31 7
5 Silvàn Areg "Allez leur dire" "Un homme debout" (Claudio Capéo) 38 21 59 3
6 Bilal Hassani "Roi" "Carmen" (Stromae) 58 57 115 1
7 Aysat "Comme une grande" "Dancing Queen" (ABBA) 34 6 40 4
8 Lautner "J'ai pas le temps" "J'ai cherché" (Amir) 26 9 35 5
9 Mazy "Oulala" "Si seulement je pouvais lui manquer" (Calogero) 18 15 33 6
Semi-final 2

The second semi-final aired live on 19 January 2019.

Draw Artist[9] Song[9] Cover (Original artist) Jury Televote Total Place
1 Gabriella "On cherche encore (Never Get Enough)" "L'encre de tes yeux" (Francis Cabrel) 14 18 32 6
2 The Divaz "La voix d'Aretha" "Respect" (Aretha Franklin) 26 28 54 3
3 Ugo "Ce qui me blesse" "Résiste" (France Gall) 30 8 38 5
4 Tracy de Sá "Por aqui" "Lose Yourself" (Eminem) 2 13 15 8
5 Emmanuel Moire "La promesse" "Take On Me" (a-ha) 28 56 84 2
6 Noémie "Ma petite famille" "Wonderwall" (Oasis) 8 6 14 9
7 Seemone "Tous les deux" "Magnolias for ever" (Claude François) 60 53 113 1
8 Doutson "Sois un bon fils" "Femme libérée" (Cookie Dingler) 24 15 39 4
9 PhilipElise "Madame la paix" "J'veux du soleil" (Au P'tit Bonheur) 18 13 31 7
Final

The final aired live on 26 January 2019. As the opening of the show, finalists performed "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Garou performed with André Manoukian as the interval act for the show.

Draw Artist Song Cover (Original artist) Jury Televote Total Place
1 Chimène Badi "Là-haut" "Ne partez pas sans moi" (Celine Dion) 56 63 119 3
2 Silvàn Areg "Allez leur dire" "Le Dernier qui a parlé..." (Amina) 76 26 102 5
3 The Divaz "La voix d'Aretha" "Waterloo" (ABBA) 44 48 92 6
4 Emmanuel Moire "La promesse" "Euphoria" (Loreen) 64 51 115 4
5 Doutson "Sois un bon fils" "J'ai cherché" (Amir) 10 8 18 8
6 Seemone "Tous les deux" "L'oiseau et l'enfant" (Marie Myriam) 94 62 156 2
7 Bilal Hassani "Roi" "Fuego" (Eleni Foureira) 50 150 200 1
8 Aysat "Comme une grande" "Fairytale" (Alexander Rybak) 26 12 38 7

Promotion

Bilal Hassani made several appearances across Eurovision to specifically promote "Roi" as the French Eurovision entry. On 23 February, he performed "Roi" at the final of Vidbir 2019 in Ukraine.[10] He also participated in the Melfest WKND Pre-Party event at the Estelle venue in Stockholm, Sweden on 8 March 2019, and the Eurovision in Concert at the AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 6 April.[11][12] He also performed "Roi" at the London Eurovision Party in London, which was hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.[13]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 took place at Expo Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel and consisted of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May and the final on 18 May 2019.[14] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big 5", France automatically qualifies to compete in the final. In addition to their participation in the final, France is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, 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. The individual rankings of each jury member, as well as the nation's televoting results, were released shortly after the grand final.[15]

Points awarded to France
Points awarded to France (final)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by France

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the French jury:[15]

  • Bruno Berberes – Chairperson – artistic director, head of casting
  • Bintily Diallo – music journalist
  • Lionel Maurel – head of video content
  • Mohamed Zayana – label manager, producer
  • Delphine Elbé – singer, songwriter
Split voting results from France (Semi-final 1)
Draw Country Jury Televote
B. Berberes B. Diallo L. Maurel M. Zayana D. Elbé Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Cyprus6104265611
02 Montenegro17131615131717
03 Finland1515126101416
04 Poland39914121138
05 Slovenia1641510151392
06 Czech Republic1035343812
07 Hungary91147121013
08 Belarus5828117415
09 Serbia12661128356
10 Belgium1316812141565
11 Georgia4710979274
12 Australia14143134747
13 Iceland1211716112210
14 Estonia812758101101
15 Portugal751316912112
16 Greece21111456583
17 San Marino11171713171614
Split voting results from France (final)
Draw Country Jury Televote
B. Berberes B. Diallo L. Maurel M. Zayana D. Elbé Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Malta171482291519
02 Albania6122014161313
03 Czech Republic133621118320
04 Germany1623117221723
05 Russia15211413131983
06 Denmark81398710174
07 San Marino22252525252525
08 North Macedonia31521524718
09 Sweden5734321015
10 Slovenia25101624232216
11 Cyprus99417171117
12 Netherlands2652111265
13 Greece14221523152322
14 Israel21111811612112
15 Norway23202418142438
16 United Kingdom2018236201824
17 Iceland1011202465101
18 Estonia12171912182014
19 Belarus248719211421
20 Azerbaijan4413545612
21 France
22 Italy122131238210
23 Serbia1916171081611
24  Switzerland75129109292
25 Australia182410157456
26 Spain11192216192147

References
  1. "France: 2.14 Million Viewers for Destination Eurovision Final". Eurovoix. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. "France Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. "France: France 2 Launches Destination Eurovision Submissions Process". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  4. "France: Expert Panel Revealed for Destination Eurovision". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  5. https://tv5.ca/destination-eurovision
  6. http://www.tv5monde.com/programmes/fr/programme-tv-destination-eurovision-1re-demi-finale/66597/
  7. "France: More Details on Destination Eurovision 2019 Revealed". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  8. "France: Destination Eurovision 2019 Semi-Finalists Revealed". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  9. "Happy new year everyone! Pour bien commencer, voici les 9 artistes de la 1ère demi-finale de #DestinationEurovision le 12 janvier sur @France2tv ! Here are the artists for #DestinationEurovision 's first semi-final. Are you ready? Préparez-vous à voter ! #Eurovision". 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  10. https://eurovoix.com/2019/02/22/france-bilal-hassani-vidbir-2019-final/
  11. https://melodifestivalklubben.se/bilal-frankrike-2019-till-melfest-wknd-pre-party/
  12. https://eurovisioninconcert.nl/en/welcome-bilal-from-france-2/
  13. "18 Eurovision 2019 acts to perform in London on Sunday 13 April". Eurovision.tv. 13 April 2019.
  14. "Tel Aviv to host Eurovision 2019! - Eurovision Song Contest Israel 2019". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  15. Groot, Evert (30 April 2019). "Exclusive: They are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019!". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
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