| France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2003 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | France Télévisions | |||
| Country |  France | |||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Announcement date | 7 March 2003 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Monts et merveilles" | |||
| Artist | Louisa Baïleche | |||
| Songwriter | Hocine Hallaf | |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 18th, 19 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
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France was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Monts et merveilles", written by Hocine Hallaf, and performed by Louisa Baïleche. The French participating broadcasterFrance Télévisions internally selected its entry for the contest. "Monts et merveilles" was officially presented to the public on 7 March 2003 during theFrance 3 programmeLe Fabuleux Destin de....
As a member of the "Big Four", France automatically qualified to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 19, France placed eighteenth out of the 26 participating countries with 19 points.
Prior to the 2003 contest,France Télévisions and its predecessor national broadcasters, have participated in theEurovision Song Contest representing France forty-five times sinceRTF's debut inthe inaugural contest. They first won the contest in1958 with "Dors, mon amour" performed byAndré Claveau. In the 1960s, they won three times, with "Tom Pillibi" performed byJacqueline Boyer in1960, "Un premier amour" performed byIsabelle Aubret in1962, and "Un jour, un enfant" performed byFrida Boccara, who won in1969 in a four-way tie with theNetherlands,Spain, and theUnited Kingdom. Their fifth – and so far latest – victory came in1977 with "L'oiseau et l'enfant" performed byMarie Myriam. France has also finished second four times, withPaule Desjardins in1957,Catherine Ferry in1976,Joëlle Ursull in1990, andAmina in1991 (who lost out toSweden'sCarola in a tie-break). In the 21st century, they make the top ten two times, with "Je n'ai que mon âme" performed byNatasha St-Pier finishing fourthin 2001 and "Il faut du temps" bySandrine François finishing fifthin 2002.[1][dead link]
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster,France Télévisions organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country throughFrance 3. The French broadcasters had used both national finals and internal selection to choose their entries in the past. Their1999 and2000 entries were selected via a national final that featured several competing acts. In 2001 and 2002, the broadcaster opted to internally select the entry, a procedure that was continued in order to select the 2003 entry.
France Télévisions announced in early 2003 that its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 would be selected internally. On 13 January 2003, the broadcaster opened a submission period in order for interested artists and songwriters to submit their proposals.[2] On 7 March 2003, the broadcaster announced during the France 3 programmeLe Fabuleux Destin de..., hosted by Isabelle Giordano, that the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 would be ""Monts et merveilles" performed by Louisa Baïleche.[3][4] The song was written by Hocine Hallaf. The selection committee ofFrance Télévisions considered two entries, ""Monts et merveilles" performed by Louisa Baïleche and "Un jour, je t'emmènerai" performed by Thibault Durand, before finalising their decision internally on 28 February 2003.[5]
As a member of the "Big 4", France automatically qualified to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 on 24 May 2003. During the running order draw on 29 November 2003, France was placed to perform in position 19, following the entry fromNorway and before the entry fromPoland.[6] France placed eighteenth in the final, scoring 19 points.[7]
In France, the show was broadcast onFrance 3 with commentary byLaurent Ruquier andIsabelle Mergault,[8] as well as via radio onFrance Bleu with commentary byLaurent Boyer.[citation needed]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to France and awarded by France in the contest.[9]France Télévisions appointed Sandrine François, who representedFrance in 2002, as its spokesperson to announce the French votes during the show.[citation needed]
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