France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977
| Eurovision Song Contest 1977 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  France | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | National Final 1977 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 20, 27 February 1977 6 March 1977 | |||
| Selected entrant | Marie Myriam | |||
| Selected song | "L'oiseau et l'enfant" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 1st, 136 points | |||
| France in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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France was represented by Marie Myriam, with the song "L'oiseau et l'enfant", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 7 May in London. "L'oiseau et l'enfant" went on to bring France a fifth Eurovision victory, a record at the time.
Before Eurovision[edit]
Following the French success in 1976 with a song chosen through a national final, broadcaster TF1 again opted for a public selection. The selection process was a cooperation with the French songwriters and composers association SACEM.[1] 360 songs were submitted.[1]
National final[edit]
Semi-finals[edit]
Each semi-final contained seven songs, with the top three in each going forward to the final. The qualifiers were chosen by public televoting.[2]
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Final[edit]
The final took place on 6 March 1977, hosted by Evelyn Leclercq, Patrick Sébastien and Yves Lecoq. The winner was chosen by public televoting.[1][3]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pierre Charby | "Chacun sa chanson d'amour" | 3,562 | 5 |
| 2 | Colin Verdier | "La vie tu sais" | 4,845 | 4 |
| 3 | Marie Myriam | "L'oiseau et l'enfant" | 10,178 | 1 |
| 4 | Delfine | "Du côté de l'enfance" | 6,066 | 3 |
| 5 | Monique Pianéa | "Je suis comme elle" | 2,740 | 6 |
| 6 | Corinne Colbert | "La poupée" | 7,565 | 2 |
At Eurovision[edit]
On the night of the final Myriam performed last in the running order, following Belgium. Pre-contest betting had suggested that the winner was likely to be one from Belgium, Germany, Ireland or the United Kingdom, with the French song not registering as a potential victor. The United Kingdom took the early initiative in the voting and held the lead until just over half way through, when a late run of high marks to "L'oiseau et l'enfant" and a dip in form from its challengers saw France claim the victory with a final total of 136 points, 15 ahead of the United Kingdom in second place.[4]
Although in later years "L'oiseau et l'enfant" attained the status of a Eurovision classic, at the time it was considered a surprising and unexpected winner. France had taken only three maximum 12s (from Finland, Germany and Switzerland) against six for the United Kingdom and four for Ireland, but had scored more consistently across the board, being the only country to receive votes from every other national jury.[5]
Voting[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^ a b c Mogui, Jean-Pierre (9 May 1977). "Victoire à Wembley". Le Figaro (in French). p. 30. ISSN 0182-5852. OCLC 1367314267.
- ^ National Finals database 1977 Semis Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ESC National Finals database 1977
- ^ "Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ ESC History - France 1977
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.