France was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1956 The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RSI) on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). The contest, origi ...

with two songs: "", composed by André Lodge, with lyrics by Rachèle Thoreau, and performed by Mathé Altéry; and "", written by Simone Vallauris, and performed by Dany Dauberson. The French participating broadcaster, (RTF), selected its two entries through the radio program . "" was the first-ever entry from France performed in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

Before Eurovision

According to TV listings magazine , (RTF) used the radio program to choose its two entries for the Eurovision Song Contest 1956. aired regularly on Saturday evenings on Programme parisien in 1956 and 1957. Its third season started on 7 April 1956, with finals held on 7 July 1956. The program was directed by Michel du Plessis and presented by Maurice Yvain and

Louis Poterat Louis Poterat (2 January 1901 – 6 January 1982) was a French lyricist. Career Poterat was born in Troyes, Aube. He studied law, before turning to journalism. Poterat switched to a more commercial environment and began writing for local revu ...

, with an orchestra led by

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later ...

accompanying the artists. Of the two French songs chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest, "" can be retrieved in radio listings as participating in the program, in this case for the program aired on 5 May 1956, and sung by Marina Audrey. "", written by André Lodge (music) and (lyrics), and "", written by Simone Vallauris, were chosen as the French entries. It's unknown how Mathé Altéry and Dany Dauberson were ultimately selected as the participants.

At Eurovision

The

took place at the in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. "", sung by Mathé Altéry, was performed 5th at the contest and "", sung by Dany Dauberson, was performed 12th. Both of the French entries were conducted by

. Each participating broadcaster appointed two jury members who voted by giving between one and ten points to each song, including those representing their own country. One of the French jury members was Maurice Yvain. The full results of the contest were not revealed and have not been retained by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

(EBU). Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was televised in France on RTF with commentary by Michelle Rebel, and also broadcast live on radio Paris-Inter.

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1956

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956