France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977

  • Jean-Paul Cara
  • Joe Gracy
Finals performanceFinal result1st, 136 pointsFrance in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1976 • 1977 • 1978►

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

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

Semi-finals

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]

Semi-final 1 – 20 February 1977
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Gilles Marchal "Le centre du monde" 4,213 4
2 Delfine "Du côté de l'enfance" 5,511 1
3 Joël Prévost "Pour oublier Barbara" 3,918 6
4 Pierre Charby "Chacun sa chanson d'amour" 4,722 3
5 Patricia Lavilla "Vis ta vie" 3,810 7
6 Colin Verdier "La vie tu sais" 4,881 2
7 Maxime Piolot "Il faut partir" 4,036 5
Semi-final 2 – 27 February 1977
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Monique Pianéa "Je suis comme elle" 5,001 2
2 Corinne Colbert "La poupée" 4,879 3
3 Elisabeth Jérôme "Dans les nuages" 3,293 7
4 Marie Myriam "L'oiseau et l'enfant" 7,164 1
5 Millie "Un enfant peut-être" 4,332 5
6 Primevère "Dîtes-moi" 4,489 4
7 Arlène "Le cerf-volant" 3,960 6

Final

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]

Final – 6 March 1977
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

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

Points awarded to France[6]
Score Country
12 points
10 points
8 points  Netherlands
7 points
6 points
5 points  Portugal
4 points
3 points  Norway
2 points
1 point
Points awarded by France[6]
Score Country
12 points  United Kingdom
10 points  Ireland
8 points  Netherlands
7 points  Italy
6 points  Portugal
5 points  Monaco
4 points  Finland
3 points  Greece
2 points  Israel
1 point  Germany

References

  1. ^ a b c Mogui, Jean-Pierre (9 May 1977). "Victoire à Wembley". Le Figaro (in French). p. 30. ISSN 0182-5852. OCLC 1367314267.
  2. ^ National Finals database 1977 Semis Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ ESC National Finals database 1977
  4. ^ "Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  5. ^ "ESC History - France 1977". Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Results of the Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  • v
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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
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Countries
Final
Withdrawn
  • Tunisia
Artists
Songs
  • "Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim"
  • "Beatles"
  • "Boom Boom Boomerang"
  • "Casanova"
  • "Enséñame a cantar"
  • "Frère Jacques"
  • "It's Nice to Be in Love Again"
  • "Lapponia"
  • "Libera"
  • "De mallemolen"
  • "Mathima solfège"
  • "A Million in One, Two, Three"
  • "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant"
  • "Une petite française"
  • "Portugal no coração"
  • "Rock Bottom"
  • "Swiss Lady"
  • "Telegram"