Singer Slimane defends the colors of France at Eurovision with his song “Mon amour”.
Can France climb to the top of the rankings on Saturday evening after the Eurovision final? The 68th edition of the European singing competition is being held in Malmö, Sweden. 26 countries will compete to succeed the Swedish Loreen, winner last year with her song Tattoo. To represent France, the tricolor delegation has designated the singer Slimane, who will wear our colors with the title My love.
But can he achieve victory? France has not won Eurovision since… 1977 and Marie Myriam’s title with her song The Bird and the Child. Since then, nothing, or almost. Barbara Pravi still offered France a good second place in 2021 with her song So. By choosing a comparable performance, with a sober and elegant scenography centered on the artist, a great voice and a powerful song, can the French delegation bring the cup home?
Nothing is less sure. But there are hopes. For weeks now, Slimane has been in the top 10 of the provisional rankings of bookmakers, bettors specializing in Eurovision and able to give clues about the winner of the evening. Or at least, his podium. This was the case, for example, for the last winners of the competition. Slimane and My love even rose to fourth position among the most listened to tracks by Eurovision participants on the Spotify platform, with nearly 3.8 million plays worldwide.
Moreover, if the producer of Eurovision 2024, Christer Björkman, estimates in the columns of 20 minutes that this year, the competition is “very open”, he assures: “France is one of the six countries that I imagine winning.” And added: “It would be great if France won, it’s been so long since you won the competition.”
Another element that could give hope to French Eurovision fans is the ranking established after the votes of people said to be accredited to the competition, i.e. fans and the media. And it is in first place that Slimane appears at the end of this consultation, published just a few days before the first semi-finals. France is assured of qualification, being a member of the Big Five, a very very private club of the biggest contributor countries to the European Broadcasting Union.
Finally, let us note that unlike La Zarra, the subject of numerous controversies last year following his appointment as French standard bearer at Eurovision, Slimane is already one of the most popular French artists of his generation. Since France cannot vote for its candidate, it is still a safe bet that with My love, it is capable of seducing beyond borders. Especially since on the other hand, the competition is not really tough. Enough to allow France to ward off its Eurovision curse? There is hope.