| France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2014 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | France Télévisions | |||
| Country |  France | |||
| Selection process | National final | |||
| Selection date | 2 March 2014 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Moustache" | |||
| Artist | Twin Twin | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 26th, 2 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
France was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Moustache" written by Pierre Beyres, Kim N'Guyen, Lorent Idir and François Ardouvin, and performed by the bandTwin Twin. The French broadcasterFrance Télévisions in collaboration with the television channelFrance 3 organised a national final in order to select the French entry for the 2014 contest inCopenhagen, Denmark. Three songs competed in the national final which took place during the France 3 programmeLes chansons d'abord. On 2 March 2014, "Moustache" performed by Twin Twin was officially announced by France 3 as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote.
As a member of the "Big Five", France automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 14, France placed twenty-sixth (last) out of the 26 participating countries with 2 points. This marked the first time that the nation had placed last in the history of the competition.
Prior to the 2014 contest, France had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-six times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in1956.[1] France 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. France's fifth victory came in1977, whenMarie Myriam won with the song "L'oiseau et l'enfant". France have 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, France has had less success, only making the top ten three times, withNatasha St-Pier finishing fourth in2001,Sandrine François finishing fifth in2002 andPatricia Kaas finishing eighth in2009. In2013, the nation finished in twenty-third place with the song "L'enfer et moi" performed byAmandine Bourgeois.
The French national broadcaster,France Télévisions, broadcasts the event within France and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the television channelFrance 3. France 3 confirmed that France would participate in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest on 27 September 2013.[2] The French broadcaster had used both national finals and internal selection to choose the French entry in the past. From2008 to2013, the broadcaster opted to internally select the French entry. In November 2013, the broadcaster announced that the 2014 French entry would be selected via a national final that would feature three competing acts.[3] This marked the first time since2007 that a national final would be organised to select the French entry.[4]
Three entries participated in the French national final that selected France's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The competition took place on 26 January 2014 and the winner was announced on 2 March 2014.[3][5]
France 3 opened a submission period on 4 October 2013 in order for interested artists and songwriters to submit their proposals up until the deadline on 24 November 2013. Performers over 16 years of age were eligible for consideration, while songs were required to contain a majority of French language lyrics with a free language allowance for the remaining lyrics, and should not be instrumental pieces that extensively lacked vocals.[6][7] A fourteen-member selection committee consisting of representatives of France Télévisions, music industry professionals, a Eurovision fan and a television viewer, the latter being selected from a public competition organised by France 3 in collaboration withFrance Bleu, shortlisted five entries on 26 November 2013 following a blind audio listening of the received submissions before finalising their decision of the three entries to compete in the national final. For the public competition, applicants were required to successfully answer three questions related to the Eurovision Song Contest in order to enter a draw.[3] The members of the selection committee were:[8]
The competing artists were announced on 27 November 2013.[9][10] On 24 January 2014, 30-second clips of the competing songs were previewed during theEurope 1 radio programmeLe grand direct des médias, hosted byJean-Marc Morandini.[4]
The competing artists presented their entries to the public on 26 January 2014 during theFrance 3 programmeLes chansons d'abord, hosted byNatasha St-Pier who representedFrance in the 2001 contest.[11] The programme also featured guest appearances by former French Eurovision entrantsMarie Myriam (1977),Amaury Vassili (2011) andAnggun (2012).[12] Following the show, the entries were given increased exposure and rotation through recap programmes on France 3 and France Bleu, and the public was able to vote for their favourite song through online voting and televoting via telephone and SMS until 23 February 2014.[13] The winner, "Moustache" performed byTwin Twin, was determined by the combination of a jury panel (50%), the results of the televote (25%) and the results of the online vote (25%), and was announced on 2 March 2014 duringLes chansons d'abord.[14][15]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Destan | "Sans toi" | Laura Marciano, Cheyenne |
| 2 | Joanna | "Ma liberté" | Gerard James Borg,Philip Vella, Sean Vella, Yves Guillon |
| 3 | Twin Twin | "Moustache" | Pierre Beyres, Kim N'Guyen, Lorent Idir, François Ardouvin |
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. As a member of the "Big 5", France automatically qualified to compete in the final on 10 May 2014. 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 20 January 2014, France was assigned to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 6 May 2014.[16]
In France, the two semi-finals was broadcast onFrance Ô with commentary by Audrey Chauveau and Bruno Berberes, while the final was broadcast onFrance 3 with commentary byCyril Féraud andNatasha St-Pier who representedFrance in the 2001 Contest.[17] The French spokesperson, who announced the French votes during the final, was Elodie Suigo.[18]
Twin Twin took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. This included the jury final on 9 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. After technical rehearsals were held on 6 May, the "Big 5" countries and host nation Denmark 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. France was drawn to compete in the second half.[19] 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 in position 14, following the entry fromSweden and before the entry fromRussia.[20]
The French performance featured the members of Twin Twin on stage dressed in colourful clothes and performing a choreographed routine with two dancers. The stage contained various colours and the LED screens displayed moustache motifs and images that beat together with the music beat.[21][22] The dancers that joined Twin Twin on stage were Céline Baron and Jonathan Jenvrin. A backing vocalist, Ulrich Kwasi, was also part of the performance.[23] France placed twenty-sixth (last) in the final, scoring 2 points.[24] As of 2025, this remains the worst result France has ever achieved in the contest, and also the first time that it had finished last.
Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant 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 could 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 were released shortly after the grand final.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that France had placed twenty-sixth with the public televote and the jury vote. In the public vote, France scored 1 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 5 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to France and awarded by France in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
| Score | Country |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
|
|
The following members comprised the French jury:[27]
| Draw | Country | F. Marchal | J-M. Sauvagnargues | F. Llado | J. Solia | B. Bergman | Jury Rank | Televote Rank | Combined Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Armenia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 02 |  Latvia | 11 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 14 | |
| 03 |  Estonia | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 4 |
| 04 |  Sweden | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 05 |  Iceland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 8 |
| 06 |  Albania | 12 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 11 | |
| 07 |  Russia | 14 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 15 | |
| 08 |  Azerbaijan | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 9 | 2 |
| 09 |  Ukraine | 13 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 13 | |
| 10 |  Belgium | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| 11 |  Moldova | 16 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | |
| 12 |  San Marino | 10 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 12 | |
| 13 |  Portugal | 8 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| 14 |  Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 15 |  Montenegro | 9 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| 16 |  Hungary | 7 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 3 |
| Draw | Country | F. Marchal | J-M. Sauvagnargues | F. Llado | J. Solia | B. Bergman | Jury Rank | Televote Rank | Combined Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ukraine | 22 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 24 | 8 | 19 | |
| 02 |  Belarus | 14 | 23 | 18 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 25 | |
| 03 | Azerbaijan | 24 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 9 | 22 | 18 | |
| 04 | Iceland | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 7 |
| 05 |  Norway | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 2 |
| 06 |  Romania | 19 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 16 | 22 | 4 | 13 | |
| 07 | Armenia | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 08 | Montenegro | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 20 | |
| 09 |  Poland | 23 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| 10 |  Greece | 10 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 8 | 19 | 12 | 17 | |
| 11 |  Austria | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 12 |  Germany | 21 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 22 | |
| 13 | Sweden | 4 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| 14 | France | |||||||||
| 15 | Russia | 25 | 11 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 15 | 21 | |
| 16 |  Italy | 18 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| 17 |  Slovenia | 20 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 18 | 25 | 23 | |
| 18 |  Finland | 7 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 18 | 12 | |
| 19 |  Spain | 17 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 20 |  Switzerland | 12 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 11 | |
| 21 | Hungary | 8 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 15 | |
| 22 |  Malta | 11 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 14 | |
| 23 |  Denmark | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 5 | 16 | 8 | 3 |
| 24 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 25 | San Marino | 15 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 24 | |
| 26 |  United Kingdom | 16 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 16 |