France was represented by

Marie Myriam Marie Myriam (born Myriam Lopes, 8 May 1957, Luluabourg, Belgian Congo, (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a French singer of Portuguese descent. Career Representing France, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977 with '' L'oise ...

, with the song " L'oiseau et l'enfant", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 7 May in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. "L'oiseau et l'enfant" went on to bring France a fifth Eurovision victory, a record at the time.

Before Eurovision

National final

Following the French success in 1976 with a song chosen through a national final, broadcaster TF1 again opted for a public selection.

Semi-finals

Each semi-final contained seven songs, with the top three in each going forward to the final. The qualifiers were chosen by public televoting.

Final

The final took place on 6 March 1977, hosted by Evelyn Leclercq, Patrick Sébastien and Yves Lecoq. The winner was chosen by public televoting.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Myriam performed last in the running order, following

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Pre-contest betting had suggested that the winner was likely to be one from Belgium,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

or the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, with the French song not registering as a potential victor. The United Kingdom took the early initiative in the voting and held the lead until just over half way through, when a late run of high marks to "L'oiseau et l'enfant" and a dip in form from its challengers saw France claim the victory with a final total of 136 points, 15 ahead of the United Kingdom in second place. Although in later years "L'oiseau et l'enfant" attained the status of a Eurovision classic, at the time it was considered a surprising and unexpected winner. France had taken only three maximum 12s (from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Germany and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) against six for the United Kingdom and four for Ireland, but had scored more consistently across the board, being the only country to receive votes from every other national jury.ESC History - France 1977
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Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1977 1977 Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...