France Eurovision Songs

France has won the Eurovision Song Contest 5 times, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969(tie) and 1977 and TF1 hosted the song contest in 1959, 1961 and 1978. In 1963 TF1 decided not to host due to a lack of funds and the honor went to the United Kingdom and BBC. Since there were four winners in 1969, there was a draw to select the host for 1970, the honor went to the Netherlands.
France Télévisions participation in the song contest has produced no wins and few successes.
In the past 10 years, France has experienced a severe decline in terms of performance in the Eurovision Song Contest and the country has had a series of humiliating results: 18th (1996), 24th (1998), 19th (1999), 23rd (2000), 18th (2003), 15th (2004), 23rd (2005) and 22nd (2006). However, France's best performance to date (apart from winning) was in 2001 when the country ranked 4th with famed Canadian singer Natasha St Pier and was followed in 2002 with Sandrine Francois who ranked 5th.
Most of the French entries are sung by amateur singers (Virginie Pouchain who represented France in 2006 is a hairdresser in life) or unknown artists. Therefore, most of the French people do not consider the Eurovision Song Contest as the prime show for talented musicians and vocalists.
In all the contest, France is among the few countries who do not regularly benefit from neighbourly voting: only occasionally does the country receive high marks from the UK, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and even Monaco.
Year .... Finished .... Artist .......................... Song
1956 .... n/a .......... Mathé Altèry ................ "Le Temps Perdu"
1956 .... n/a .......... Dany Dauberson .......... "Il Est Là"
1957 .... 2nd .......... Paul Desjardins ........... "La Belle Amour"
1958 .... 1st ........... André Claveau ............ "Dors, Mon Amour"
1959 .... 3rd .......... Jacques Philippe ........... "Oui, Oui, Oui, Oui"
1960 .... 1st ........... Jacqueline Boyer .......... "Tom Pillibi"
1961 .... 4th .......... Jean-Paul Mauric ........... "Printemps, Avril Carillonne"
1962 .... 1st ........... Isabelle Auret ............... "Un Premier Amour"
1963 .... 5th ........... Alain Barrière ............... "Elle Était Si Jolie"
1964 .... 4th ........... Rachel .......................... "Le Chant De Mallory"
1965 .... 3rd ........... Guy Mardel ................... "N'Avoue Jamais"
1966 .... 16th ......... Dominique Walter .......... "Chez Nous"
1967 .... 3rd ........... Noëlle Cordier ............... "Il Doit Faire Beau Là-Bas"
1968 .... 3rd ........... Isabelle Aubret .............. "La Source"
1969 .... 1st ............ Frida Boccara ................ "Un Jour, Un Enfant"
1970 .... 4th ............ Guy Bonnet ................... "Marie-Blanche"
1971 .... 10th .......... Serge Lama ................... "Un Jardin Sur La Terre"
1972 .... 10th .......... Betty Mars ..................... "Comé Comédie"
1973 .... 15th .......... Martine Clemenceau ....... "Sans Toi"
Did not participate in 1974.
1975 .... 4th ............ Nicole Rieu ..................... "Et Bonjour À Toi L'Artiste"
1976 .... 2nd ........... Catherine Ferry ............... "Un, Deux, Trois"
1977 .... 1st ............. Marie Myriam .................. "L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant"
1978 .... 3rd ............. Joël Prévost .................... "Il Y Aura Toujours Des Violons"
1979 .... 3rd ............. Anne-Marie David ........... "Je Suis L'Enfant-Soleil"
1980 .... 11th ........... Profil .............................. "Hé Hé M'Sieurs Dames"
1981 .... 3rd ............. Jean Gabilou ................... "Humanahum"
Did not participate in 1982.
1983 .... 8th .............. Guy Bonnet ..................... "Vivre"
1984 .... 8th .............. Annick Thoumazeau ......... "Autant D'Amoureux Que D'Étoiles"
1985 .... 10th ............ Roger Bens ..................... "Femme Dans Ses Rêves Aussi"
1986 .... 17th ............ Cocktail Chic ................... "Européennes"
1987 .... 14th ............ Christine Minier ................ "Les Mots D'Amour N'Ont Pas De Dimanche"
1988 .... 10th ............ Gérard Lenorman ............. "Chanteur De Charme"
1989 .... 8th .............. Nathalie Pâque ................. "J'Ai Volé La Vie"
1990 .... 2nd .............. Joëlle Ursull .................... "White and Black Blues"
1991 .... 2nd .............. Amina ............................ "C'Est Le Dernier Qui A Parlé A Raison"
1992 .... 8th ............... Kali (Jean-Marc Monnerville) "Monté La Riviè"
1993 .... 4th ............... Patrick Fiori ..................... "Mama Corsica"
1994 .... 7th ............... Nina Morato ..................... "Je Suis Un Vrai Garçon"
1995 .... 4th ............... Nathalia Santamaria .......... "Il Me Donne Rendez-Vous"
1996 .... 19th ............. Dan Ar Braz & l'Héritage des Celtes "Diwanit Bugale"
1997 .... 7th ............... Fanny ............................... "Sentiments Songes"
1998 .... 24th ............. Marie Line .......................... "Où Aller"
1999 .... 19th ............. Nayah ................................ "Je Veux Donner Ma Voix"
2000 .... 23rd ............. Sofia Mestari ...................... "On Aura Le Ciel"
2001 .... 4th ............... Natasha St-Pier .................. "Je N'Ai Que Mon Âme"
2002 .... 5th ............... Sandrine François ............... "Il Faut Du Temps (Je Me Battrai Pour Ça)"
2003 .... 18th .............. Louisa Baïleche .................. "Monts Et Merveilles"
2004 .... 15th .............. Jonatan Cerrada ................ "À Chaque Pas"
2005 .... 23rd .............. Ortal ................................ "Chacun Pense À Soi"
2006 .... 22nd .............. Virginie Pouchain ............... "Il Était Temps"
Video: France, 1987; Christine Minier - Les Mots D'Amour N'Ont Pas De Dimanche (14th):
Video: France, 2004; Jonatan Cerrada - À Chaque Pas (15th):
Video: France, 1966; Dominique Walter - Chez Nous (16th):
Video: France, 1999; Nayah - Je Veux Donner Ma Voix (19th):
Video: France, 2006; Virginie Pouchain - Il Était Temps (22nd):
Video: France, 2005; Ortal - Chacun Pense À Soi (23rd):
Video: France, 2000; Sofia Mestari - On Aura Le Ciel (23rd):
Video: France, 1998; Marie Line - Où Aller (24th):