France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

  • Jean-Paul Cara
  • Joe Gracy
Finals performanceFinal result3rd, 125 pointsFrance in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1980 • 1981 • 1983►

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

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]

Final – 8 March 1981
Draw Artist Song Points Place
1 Amour "Un homme s'était levé" 116 6
2 Evelyne Geller "Les yeux fermés" 165 3
3 Jean Gabilou "Humanahum" 273 1
4 Frida Boccara "Voilà comment je t'aime" 159 4
5 Jeff Barnel "De visage en visage" 131 5
6 Jorge Rafael "C'est un oiseau de papier" 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.[3] 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"]."[4] France would return to the fold in 1983, albeit with a different broadcaster, Antenne 2.

Voting

Points awarded to France[5]
Score Country
12 points
10 points
8 points  Greece
7 points
6 points  Netherlands
5 points  Norway
4 points
3 points  Belgium
2 points  Denmark
1 point  United Kingdom
Points awarded by France[5]
Score Country
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. ^ "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ 1982 Eurovision source in French
  5. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Participation
Artists
Songs
  • "À chaque pas"
  • "Allez Ola Olé"
  • "L'Amour à la française"
  • "Autant d'amoureux que d'étoiles"
  • "La Belle amour"
  • "C'est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison"
  • "Chacun pense à soi"
  • "Le Chant de Mallory"
  • "Chanteur de charme"
  • "Chez nous"
  • "Comé-comédie"
  • "Divine"
  • "Diwanit bugale"
  • "Dors, mon amour"
  • "Echo (You and I)"
  • "Elle était si jolie"
  • "L'Enfer et moi"
  • "Et bonjour à toi l'artiste"
  • "Et s'il fallait le faire"
  • "Européennes"
  • "Évidemment"
  • "Femme dans ses rêves aussi"
  • "Fulenn"
  • "Hé, hé M'sieurs dames"
  • "Humanahum"
  • "Il doit faire beau là-bas"
  • "Il est là"
  • "Il était temps"
  • "Il faut du temps"
  • "Il me donne rendez-vous"
  • "Il y aura toujours des violons"
  • "J'ai cherché"
  • "J'ai volé la vie"
  • "Un jardin sur la terre"
  • "Je n'ai que mon âme"
  • "Je suis l'enfant soleil"
  • "Je suis un vrai garçon"
  • "Je veux donner ma voix"
  • "Un jour, un enfant"
  • "Mama Corsica"
  • "Marie-Blanche"
  • "Mercy"
  • "Mon alliée (The Best in Me)"
  • "Mon amour"
  • "Monté la riviè"
  • "Monts et merveilles"
  • "Les Mots d'amour n'ont pas de dimanche"
  • "Moustache"
  • "N'avoue jamais"
  • "N'oubliez pas"
  • "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant"
  • "On aura le ciel"
  • "Où aller"
  • "Oui, oui, oui, oui"
  • "Un premier amour"
  • "Printemps, avril carillonne"
  • "Requiem"
  • "Roi"
  • "Sans toi"
  • "Sentiments songes"
  • "Sognu"
  • "La Source"
  • "Le Temps perdu"
  • "Tom Pillibi"
  • "Un, deux, trois"
  • "La Vie à vingt-cinq ans"
  • "Vivre"
  • "Voilà"
  • "White and Black Blues"
  • Note: Entries scored out signify where France did not compete
  • v
  • t
  • e
Countries
Artists
Songs
  • "Aldri i livet"
  • "C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique"
  • "Dönme Dolap"
  • "Fångad i en dröm"
  • "Feggari kalokerino"
  • "Halayla"
  • "Het is een wonder"
  • "Horoscopes"
  • "Humanahum"
  • "Io senza te"
  • "Johnny Blue"
  • "Krøller eller ej"
  • "Lejla"
  • "Making Your Mind Up"
  • "Monika"
  • "Playback"
  • "Reggae OK"
  • "Samson"
  • "Wenn du da bist"
  • "Y sólo tú"