France belongs to the founding members of the Eurovision Song Contest from the first year 1956. This year in Liverpool it’s going to be the 66th time for France!

France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest every year except for 1974 and 1982 when they withdrew from the competition. Despite having achieved five wins, seven second places, and seven third places, their biggest successes were mainly in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

In recent years, France has struggled to achieve good placings in the contest. This is partly due to the increased number of participating countries, which has made it harder for France to stand out. Additionally, the introduction of televoting has meant that the French entries have had to compete with more popular and well-known acts from other countries. Finally, the French broadcasters have sometimes made the wrong choices when selecting their entries, which has resulted in poor results for France in the contest. However, France has been making efforts in recent years to improve its performance, and has achieved some success, including a top-five finish in 2016 with the song “J’ai cherché” by Amir.

Barbara Pravi‘s performance of “Voilá” was highly praised during the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, and she came very close to winning the competition. The song was a powerful and emotional ballad that showcased her unique vocals and style, and the staging and visuals were also very effective in conveying the message of the song. Overall, it was a memorable performance that earned her a well-deserved second place finish.

A Top10 position France could be reached 39 times within six decades, so approximate chance to get a good placement overall is 59%.

France is renowned for its chansons and ballads, but in recent years, the country has also presented French pop tunes at Eurovision. Examples include “Divine” by Sébastian Tellier and “Allez Olla Olé” by Jessy Matador, which have also found success in international charts.

As for the language issue, it is true that nowadays every country can choose the language of their entry, and Finland has mostly chosen to sing in English in recent years.

France has had big names representing them at Eurovision, such as Patricia Kaas, Natasha St. Pierre, and Patrick Fiori, although they were unable to secure a win. However, in 1977, Marie Myriam won over the juries with “L’Oiseau Et L’Enfant,” which was a massive victory and became a hit throughout Europe. However, this was over 40 years ago, and France has struggled to achieve similar success since then.

As a member of the Big 5 countries, France automatically qualifies for the Grand Final, along with Germany, the UK, Spain, and Italy.