France is pulling out all the stops to secure a win at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, reveals Edoardo Grassi, Head of the French delegation.
“The objective is victory,” he said. “Then, if that won’t be the case, obviously, to be in the Top 5. That is to say, better than Amir’s 6th-place finish in 2016.”
Amir’s “J’ai cherché” was France’s best-placing song at the Eurovision Song Contest since 2002, when Sandrine François won 5th place in Tallinn with “Il faut du temps.” France had not done particularly well at Eurovision in the 2000s and 2010s, often finding itself on the lower half of the scoreboard, but Grassi has so far overseen a reversal of the trend since he took on the mantle of Head of Delegation in 2016. Last year’s entry, Alma with “Requiem,” finished 12th.
This year’s entry, Madame Monsieur’s “Mercy,” currently enjoys a comfortable spot on the top 10 of the betting odds. It has also seen high ratings in Eurovision preview shows, such as Germany’s and Finland’s.
“I have to be very sincere, and I guarantee you I don’t like to say this too much, but I think we have an extremely strong project this year,” he said. “Not only because of the power of the message we carry, of fraternity and inclusion, but above all because there has been a real enthusiasm for the French bid over the past three years. And we are more firmly anchored than ever in the international press this year.”
One thing Grassi says has contributed to the success of “Mercy,” is France’s decision to hold a televised national final, Destination Eurovision, which Madame Monsieur won on 27 January this year.
“It has already helped build audience loyalty,” Grassi said. “Amir broke the ice and Alma solidified the foundations of our work. It was the right year to engage in this public nomination process. This creates a strong craze around the song.”
Grassi said that he himself has seen this hype throughout the promotional tour for Madame Monsieur, who have appeared in Eurovision pre-concerts in Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Madrid and London.
Grassi was also asked to react to the news that Mercy, the eponymous child from Madame Monsieur’s song, was found in a refugee camp in Italy.
“We are very happy with this good news,” he said. “but we must be careful that the work of the media is not too intrusive with mother and child.”
And what if France does win this year? Grassi says that preparations are always in the works in case of a victory at Eurovision. “It seems to me that Lille, Lyon, or Paris are cities that could hold such an event.”
Source: Nice-Matin
France was one of seven countries to participate in the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Since then they have participated in every contest aside from 1974 and 1982. Their withdrawal in 1974 was caused by the death of President Georges Pompidou, while 1982’s withdrawal was a result of TF1 declining to enter the contest. France has won the contest on five occasions, the most recent being in 1977 when Marie Myriam performed “L’oiseau et l’enfant”. France’s best result of the 2000s came in 2001 when Natasha St-Pier finished 4th in Copenhagen, Denmark.
