France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
| Eurovision Song Contest 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  France | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Artist: Et si c'était vous? Song: Internal selection | |||
| Selection date(s) | 14 March 2006 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Virginie Pouchain | |||
| Selected song | "Il était temps" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 22nd, 5 points | |||
| France in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
France’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was Virginie Pouchain with the song "Il était temps" (It was time).
Virginie Pouchain is a 26-year-old hairdresser, who decided to take part in ‘Entrée des Artistes’, a musical show hosted by Pascal Sevran. Virginie won that competition and along with three other participants, she entered Et si c'était vous?, the French broadcaster's national final for the 2006 contest.
Before Eurovision
Et si c'était vous?
France's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was selected in a national final consisting of talent search performers, which was intended to have new talents emerge.
Competing artists
21 artists competed, which consisted of 13 selected by France 3 through seven regional auditions, 4 selected by France 2 through Entrée des Artistes, and 4 candidates selected by RFO (overseas territories).[1]
| Broadcaster | Country | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| France 3 | France
|
Alexandre Vautrin |
| Aude Henneville | ||
| Candice Parise | ||
| Émilie Chenneviere | ||
| Fabian Ballarin | ||
| Gwladys Fraioli | ||
| Julien Lamassonne | ||
| Laurent Leandri | ||
| Leila Barechdy | ||
| Maëlle Audic | ||
| Pierre Suppa | ||
| Tamara Calhoun | ||
| Virginie Schaeffer | ||
| France 2 | France
|
Fabien Incardona |
| Mélody Simek | ||
| Virginie Pouchain | ||
| Yorrick Vrzal | ||
| RFO | French Guiana
|
Chris Combette |
 Martinique
|
Kolo Barst | |
| Mayotte
|
Mikidache | |
 New Caledonia
|
Tyssia |
Semi-final
The semi-final took place at La Plaine St-Denis TV Studios in Paris on 14 March 2006, hosted by Michel Drucker and Claudy Siar. Out of 21 participants, 10 were selected to advance to the next round.[1]
| Semi-final – 14 March 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Result |
| 1 | Candice Parise | Finalist |
| 2 | Aude Henneville | Finalist |
| 3 | Alexandre Vautrin | Finalist |
| 4 | Virginie Schaeffer | Finalist |
| 5 | Gwladys Fraioli | Eliminated |
| 6 | Tamara Calhoun | Eliminated |
| 7 | Pierre Suppa | Finalist |
| 8 | Laurent Leandri | Eliminated |
| 9 | Maëlle Audic | Eliminated |
| 10 | Émilie Chenneviere | Eliminated |
| 11 | Leila Barechdy | Finalist |
| 12 | Fabian Ballarin | Eliminated |
| 13 | Julien Lamassonne | Finalist |
| 14 | Kolo Barst | Eliminated |
| 15 | Chris Combette | Eliminated |
| 16 | Mikidache | Eliminated |
| 17 | Tyssia | Finalist |
| 18 | Mélody Simek | Eliminated |
| 19 | Yorrick Vrzal | Eliminated |
| 20 | Fabien Incardona | Finalist |
| 21 | Virginie Pouchain | Finalist |
Final
The final was held at La Plaine St-Denis TV Studios in Paris on 14 March 2006 (immediately after the semi-final), hosted by Michel Drucker and Claudy Siar. The ten finalists performed again and the winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of the votes from public televoting and a jury panel in two rounds. In the first round, the top two entries were selected to proceed to the second round. In the second round, Virginie Pouchain was selected as the winner after she interpreted Céline Dion's French hit, "Pour que tu m'aimes encore".[2]
The jury consisted of Charles Aznavour, Lara Fabian (represented Luxembourg in the 1988 Contest), Natasha St-Pier (represented France in the 2001 Contest) and Pierre Gage.
| First Round – 14 March 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Result |
| 1 | Virginie Schaeffer | Eliminated |
| 2 | Alexandre Vautrin | Eliminated |
| 3 | Virginie Pouchain | Advanced |
| 4 | Aude Henneville | Eliminated |
| 5 | Tyssia | Eliminated |
| 6 | Pierre Suppa | Eliminated |
| 7 | Candice Parise | Eliminated |
| 8 | Fabien Incardona | Advanced |
| 9 | Julien Lamassone | Advanced |
| 10 | Leila Barechdy | Eliminated |
| Second Round – 14 March 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Percentage | Place |
| 1 | Virginie Pouchain | "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" (Celine Dion) | 42.5% | 1 |
| 2 | Fabien Incardona | "Savoir aimer" (Florent Pagny) | 34.2% | 2 |
| 3 | Julien Lamassone | "L'envie" (Johnny Hallyday) | 23.3% | 3 |
Song selection
After winning the selection, Virginie complained to the songwriter, Corneille Nyungura, that the initial song "Vous, c'est nous" did not suit her style. The song was later changed to "Il était temps", composed by Corneille Nyungura and Virginie Pouchain.
At Eurovision
Pouchain was accompanied on stage by Matheson Bayley. As France was one of the top four donors to the European Broadcasting Union, it gained automatic entry to the final. Pouchain's song finished 22nd out of 24 entries, with just 5 points.
Points awarded to France
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
See also
References
- ^ a b http://esckaz.com/2006/fra.htm.
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