France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Country	France
National selection
Selection process	Concours de la Chanson Française pour l'Eurovision 1981
Selection date(s)	8 March 1981
Selected entrant	Jean Gabilou
Selected song	"Humanahum"
Finals performance
Final result	3rd, 125 points
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1980 • 1981 • 1983►

France was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, Ireland.

The French national final to select their entry, Concours de la Chanson Française pour l'Eurovision 1981, was held on 8 March at the TF1 Studios in Paris, and was hosted by television hostess Fabienne Égal.

Six songs made it to the national final after two semi-final heats. The winner was decided by a random sampling of 1,086 television viewers who were contacted by TF1 and asked which song was their favorite.

The winning entry was "Humanahum," performed by Jean Gabilou and composed by Jean-Paul Cara with lyrics by Joe Gracy. Cara and Gracy also penned the 1977 Contest winner "L'oiseau et l'enfant". Gabilou, a Tahitian singer, was the first ever to represent France from one of its overseas territories.

National final

The order of the songs presented on the night of the Contest^[1] vary from other published material.^[2]

At Eurovision

Jean Gabilou performed ninth on the night of the contest, following Finland and preceding Spain. At the close of the voting the song had received 125 points, placing 3rd in a field of 20 competing countries. Despite finishing in the top three, TF1's head of entertainment programming, Pierre Bouteiller, famously opted out of the 1982 Contest, referring to Eurovision as "a monument to inanity [sometimes translated as "drivel"]."^[3] France would return to the fold in 1983.

References

France in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Artists 1950s Mathé Altéry (1956) Dany Dauberson (1956) Paule Desjardins André Claveau Jean Philippe 1960s Jacqueline Boyer Jean-Paul Mauric Isabelle Aubret Alain Barrière Rachel Guy Mardel Dominique Walter Noëlle Cordier Isabelle Aubret Frida Boccara 1970s Guy Bonnet Serge Lama Betty Mars Martine Clemenceau Dani Nicole Rieu Catherine Ferry Marie Myriam Joël Prévost Anne-Marie David 1980s Profil Jean Gabilou 1982 Guy Bonnet Annick Thoumazeau Roger Bens Cocktail Chic Christine Minier Gérard Lenorman Nathalie Pâque 1990s Joëlle Ursull Amina Kali Patrick Fiori Nina Morato Nathalie Santamaria Dan Ar Braz & l'Héritage des Celtes Fanny Marie Line Nayah 2000s Sofia Mestari Natasha St-Pier Sandrine François Louisa Baïleche Jonatan Cerrada Ortal Virginie Pouchain Les Fatals Picards Sébastien Tellier Patricia Kaas 2010s Jessy Matador Amaury Vassili Anggun Amandine Bourgeois Twin Twin Lisa Angell Amir
Songs 1950s "Le temps perdu" (1956) "Il est là" (1956) "La belle amour" "Dors, mon amour" "Oui, oui, oui, oui" 1960s "Tom Pillibi" "Printemps, avril carillonne" "Un premier amour" "Elle était si jolie" "Le chant de Mallory" "N'avoue jamais" "Chez nous" "Il doit faire beau là-bas" "La source" "Un jour, un enfant" 1970s "Marie-Blanche" "Un jardin sur la terre" "Comé-comédie" "Sans toi" La vie à vingt-cinq ans "Et bonjour à toi l'artiste" "Un, deux, trois" "L'oiseau et l'enfant" "Il y aura toujours des violons" "Je suis l'enfant soleil" 1980s "Hé, hé M'sieurs dames" "Humanahum" 1982 "Vivre" "Autant d'amoureux que d'étoiles" "Femme dans ses rêves aussi" "Européennes" "Les mots d'amour n'ont pas de dimanche" "Chanteur de charme" "J'ai volé la vie" 1990s "White and Black Blues" "C'est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison" "Monté la riviè" "Mama Corsica" "Je suis un vrai garçon" "Il me donne rendez-vous" "Diwanit Bugale" "Sentiments songes" "Où aller" "Je veux donner ma voix" 2000s "On aura le ciel" "Je n'ai que mon âme" "Il faut du temps" "Monts et merveilles" "À chaque pas" "Chacun pense à soi" "Il était temps" "L'amour à la française" "Divine" "Et s'il fallait le faire" 2010s "Allez Ola Olé" "Sognu" "Echo (You and I)" "L'enfer et moi" "Moustache" "N'oubliez pas" "J'ai cherché"
(Note: Entries scored out are when France did not compete)