France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
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France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time in 1957
Eurovision Song Contest 1957
The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the 2nd Eurovision Song Contest. Like the first contest, this one was still mainly a radio programme, but there was a noticeable increase in the number of people with televisions....

. The country was represented by Paul Desjardins
Paul Desjardins
Paul Desjardins is a former all-star professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played nine seasons in the Canadian Football League.-External links:*...

 with the song “La belle amour
La Belle Amour
"La belle amour" was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, performed in French by Paule Desjardins.The song was performed eighth on the night, following Germany's Margot Hielscher with "Telefon, Telefon" and preceding Denmark's Birthe Wilke & Gustav Winckler with "Skibet skal sejle...

”. Paule Desjardins was a rather unknown singer at the time of the contest. The song was composed by Guy Lafarge and the lyrics were written by Francis Carco.

The national selection

It is not known whether the French broadcaster held a national final or if the song was selected internally. It is thought that France organised a national selection whose name was "Sept villes, une chanson" (Seven towns, one song). This TV programm, whose relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest is uncertain, have been considered one of the most crazy national final format in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. This TV programm was a contest full of dubious rules and decisions that can hardly be explained.

Six shows were held from December 1956. The contest probably wasn't in the beginning a national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. In the first two shows, the Eurovision Song Contest wasn't mentioned in this TV programm. Even in the first show, a song which was unable for tooking part in the Eurovision Song Contest took part: Il est là
Il Est Là
"Il est là" was the second French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 , performed in French by Dany Dauberson....

, one of the French entries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956.

Seven towns each had a jury and each jury member gave one point to his or her favourite song. This voting system was very similar to the voting system in the Eurovision Song Contest from 1957 to next years. In the next stages of this show, there were only six juries for unknowns reasons. The results were announced at the end of each show, so six winners were chosen by the juries. However, there was never a final, because the sixth show was held only three days before the Eurovision Song Contest 1957. Anyway, the song La belle amour
La Belle Amour
"La belle amour" was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, performed in French by Paule Desjardins.The song was performed eighth on the night, following Germany's Margot Hielscher with "Telefon, Telefon" and preceding Denmark's Birthe Wilke & Gustav Winckler with "Skibet skal sejle...

, winner of the fifth show, was sent to the Eurovision Song Contest. There it was not sung by the original performer Josette Privat but by Paule Desjardins.

At Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest in Frankfurt, the French entry was performed eighth among the ten contestants following Germany
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
Germany held a national final to select the song that would represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957. The winner was Margot Hielscher with the song "Telefon, Telefon".-National final:...

 with “Telefon, Telefon
Telefon, Telefon
"Telefon, Telefon" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, performed in German by Margot Hielscher.The song was performed seventh on the night...

” and preceding Denmark
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
Denmark took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, Germany. The Danish entry was chosen during a national final called Dansk Melodi Grand Prix....

 with “Skibet skal sejle i nat
Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat
"Skibet skal sejle i nat" was the Danish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, performed in Danish by Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler and consequently the first time Danish was heard in the Eurovision....

”. Paule Desjardins delivered a simple and static performance as usual in these days. In the background, the stage showed a picture of a street café typically for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 to illustrate the country the song represents. Being a hot favourite, France finished second among the ten contestants. At the close of voting, it has received 17 points, almost only half of the points the Dutch winner received (31 points). Six countries gave points to the French entry, which means two thirds exactly of the other countries. The French jury itself gave only two countries any points: the Netherlands and most notably six points to Germany, by far the highest mark for the host country. Remarkably, France has also got its highest vote from Germany - again six points.

Voting

Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.

Points given

  • 6 points to Germany
    Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
    Germany held a national final to select the song that would represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957. The winner was Margot Hielscher with the song "Telefon, Telefon".-National final:...

  • 4 points to the Netherlands

Points received

  • 6 points from Germany
    Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
    Germany held a national final to select the song that would represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957. The winner was Margot Hielscher with the song "Telefon, Telefon".-National final:...

  • 4 points from Luxembourg
    Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
    Luxembourg was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 by Danièle Dupré with the song "Amours mortes ", written by Jean-Pierre Kemmer and Jacques Taber. The entry had been chosen internally by the broadcaster.- The entry :...

  • 2 points from Denmark
    Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
    Denmark took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, held in Frankfurt, Germany. The Danish entry was chosen during a national final called Dansk Melodi Grand Prix....

  • 2 points from the United Kingdom
    United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
    The United Kingdom took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 1957. The country was represented by Patricia Bredin with the song “All” written by Reynell Wreford and Alan Stranks. The entry was chosen during a national final called A song for Europe...

  • 2 points from Belgium
    Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
    Belgium was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 by Bobbejaan Schoepen with the song "Straatdeuntje", written by Harry Frekin and Eric Franssen and performed in Dutch. The song was chosen during a national final with Schoepen performing all entries.- The national final :In the national...

  • 1 point from the Netherlands

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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