France was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Humanahum", composed by Jean-Paul Cara, with lyrics by Joe Gracy, and performed by Jean Gabilou. The French participating broadcaster, (TF1), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
1981 (TF1) held the national final on 8 March 1981 at its studios in Paris, 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.
The order of the songs presented on the night of the Contest vary from other published material.Concours de la Chanson Française pour l'Eurovision 1981, pres. Fabienne Égal, 8 March 1981, TF1.
+ Final – 8 March 1981 Artist Song Points Place 1Amour"Un homme s'était levé"1166 2Evelyne Geller"Les yeux fermés" 1653 3Jean Gabilou"Humanahum"2731 4Frida Boccara"Voilà comment je t'aime"1594 5Jeff Barnel"De visage en visage"1315 6Jorge Rafael"C'est un oiseau de papier"2422
At Eurovision Jean Gabilou performed ninth on the night of the contest, following and preceding . At the close of the voting the song had received 125 points, placing 3rd in a field of 20 competing countries.
Voting
+ Points awarded to France Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by France Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
References