France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

France was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, Ireland.

Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Country France
National selection
Selection processConcours de la Chanson Française pour l'Eurovision 1981
Selection date(s)8 March 1981
Selected entrantJean Gabilou
Selected song"Humanahum"
Finals performance
Final result3rd, 125 points
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1980 • 1981 • 1983►

Before Eurovision

Concours de la Chanson Française pour l'Eurovision 1981

The final was held on 8 March 1981 at the TF1 Studios in Paris, and was hosted by television hostess Fabienne Égal. Six songs made it to the national final after two semi-final heats. The winner was decided by a random sampling of 1,086 television viewers who were contacted by TF1 and asked which song was their favorite.

The winning entry was "Humanahum," performed by Jean Gabilou and composed by Jean-Paul Cara with lyrics by Joe Gracy. Cara and Gracy also penned the 1977 Contest winner "L'oiseau et l'enfant". Gabilou, a Tahitian singer, was the first ever to represent France from one of its overseas territories.

The order of the songs presented on the night of the Contest vary from other published material.[1][2]

Draw Artist Song (English translation) Points Place
1 Amour "Un homme s'était levé" (A man stood up) 116 6
2 Evelyne Geller "Les yeux fermés" (Closed eyes) 165 3
3 Jean Gabilou "Humanahum" 273 1
4 Frida Boccara "Voilà comment je t'aime" (That is how I love you) 159 4
5 Jeff Barnel "De visage en visage" (Face to face) 131 5
6 Jorge Rafael "C'est un oiseau de papier" (It's a paper bird) 242 2

At Eurovision

Jean Gabilou performed ninth on the night of the contest, following Finland and preceding Spain. At the close of the voting the song had received 125 points, placing 3rd in a field of 20 competing countries. Despite finishing in the top three, TF1's head of entertainment programming, Pierre Bouteiller, famously opted out of the 1982 Contest, referring to Eurovision as "a monument to inanity [sometimes translated as "drivel"]."[3] France would return to the fold in 1983.

Points awarded to France
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by France
12 points Sweden
10 points  Switzerland
8 points Germany
7 points United Kingdom
6 points Ireland
5 points Austria
4 points Denmark
3 points Luxembourg
2 points Netherlands
1 point Finland

References
  1. French National Final 1981
  2. Concours de la Chanson Française pour l'Eurovision 1981, pres. Fabienne Égal, 8 March 1981, TF1.
  3. 1982 Eurovision source in French


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