France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Requiem" written by Nazim Khaled and Alma. The song was performed by Alma. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 2 internally selected the French entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. "Requiem" was officially announced by France 2 as the French entry on 9 February 2017 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry on 11 March 2017.
As a member of the "Big Five", France automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing as the closing entry during the show in position 26, France placed twelfth out of the 26 participating countries with 135 points.
The French national broadcaster, France Télévisions, broadcasts the event within France and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the television channel France 2. France 2 confirmed that France would participate in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest on 16 May 2016.[2] The French broadcaster had used both national finals and internal selection to choose the French entry in the past. The 2014 French entry was selected via a national final that featured three competing acts. In 2015 and 2016, the broadcaster opted to internally select the French entry, a procedure that was continued in order to select the 2017 entry.[3]
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
France 2 announced in on 13 September 2016 that the French entry for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest would be selected internally. The broadcaster opened a submission period on 30 September 2016 in order for interested artists and songwriters to submit their proposals through an online submission form up until the deadline on 30 November 2016. Francophone performers 16 to 50 years of age and of any nationality were eligible for consideration, while songs were required to contain at least 80% French language lyrics with a free language allowance for the remaining lyrics. Artists and songwriters could apply individually or together, with artists that applied individually being possibly matched with a song submitted by a songwriter with or without an attached artist.[3] At the closing of the deadline, the French broadcaster received around 300 submissions.[4]
The artistic committee of France Télévisions reviewed the received submissions between 30 November 2016 and 10 March 2017, and on 9 February 2017, France 2 announced that the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 would be "Requiem" performed by Alma. The song, performed entirely in French, was written by Alma and Nazim Khaled who co-wrote the French 2016 contest entry "J'ai cherché".[5] "Requiem" was edited at the request of the French broadcaster and included additional lyrics in English. The entry was formally presented to the public on 11 March 2017 via the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.[6]
It was discovered during the week of 17 February 2017 that the artist's song had been recorded and performed prior to the EBU's submission deadline, 1 September 2016, which therefore violated the EBU's song submission policy.[7] Further research shows that Alma's song was performed at the end of January 2015.[8] The French broadcaster later claimed that they were not in breach of the EBU's submission rules.[8]
Promotion
Alma made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Requiem" as the French Eurovision entry. On 25 February, Alma performed "Requiem" during the final of the Ukrainian Eurovision national final.[9] On 2 April, Alma performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell. On 8 April, Alma performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Selma Björnsdóttir.[10] Between 3 and 6 April, Alma took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel and performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Ha'teatron venue.[11] On 15 April, Amir performed during the Eurovision-Spain Pre-Party, which was held at the La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain.[12]
At Eurovision
Alma at the Eurovision Song Contest opening ceremony
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final.[13] As a member of the "Big Five", France automatically qualified to compete in the final on 13 May 2017.[14] In addition to their participation in the final, France is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 31 January 2017, France was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 11 May 2017.
In France, the two semi-finals was broadcast on France 4 with commentary by Marianne James and Jarry, while the final was broadcast on France 2 with commentary by Marianne James, Stéphane Bern and Amir Haddad who represented France in the 2016 Contest. The final was also broadcast in all CGR Cinemas across the country for the first time. The French spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the French jury during the final, was Élodie Gossuin.
Final
Alma during a rehearsal before the final
Alma took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10, 12 and 13 May. This included the semi-final jury show on 10 May where an extended clip of the French performance was filmed for broadcast during the live show on 11 May and the jury final on 12 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[15] After the technical rehearsals were held on 7 May, the "Big Five" countries and host nation Ukraine held a press conference. As part of this press conference, the artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in.[16] France was drawn to compete in the second half. Following the conclusion of the second semi-final, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. France was subsequently placed to perform last in position 26, following the entry from Bulgaria.
The French performance featured Alma on stage alone dressed in a knee-length black dress with silver embroidery. The LED screens displayed animations of the Eiffel Tower and people in buildings with lighted windows, and a circle of lights surrounding Alma were shown on the stage floor.[17] Alma was joined by three off-stage backing vocalists: Céline Arnaud, Michaël LeLong and Nathanaëlle Langlais.[18] France placed twelfth in the final, scoring 135 points: 90 points from the televoting and 45 points from the juries.
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to France and awarded by France in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
France
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