France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956

Eurovision Song Contest 1956
Participating broadcasterRadiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF)
Country France
National selection
Selection processLe palmarès de la chanson inédite
Selected artist(s)Mathé Altéry and
Dany Dauberson
Selected song"Le Temps perdu" and
"Il est là"
Selected songwriter(s)"Le Temps perdu":
  • André Lodge
  • Rachèle Thoreau

"Il est là":
  • Simone Vallauris
Finals performance
Final resultN/A
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
1956 • 1957►

France was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 with two songs: "Le Temps perdu", composed by André Lodge, with lyrics by Rachèle Thoreau, and performed by Mathé Altéry; and "Il est là", written by Simone Vallauris, and performed by Dany Dauberson. The French participating broadcaster, Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), selected its two entries through the radio program Le palmarès de la chanson inédite. "Le Temps perdu" was the first-ever entry from France performed in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Before Eurovision

According to TV listings magazine Télévision Programme Magazine, Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF) used the radio program Le palmarès de la chanson inédite to choose its two entries for the Eurovision Song Contest 1956.[1] Le palmarès de la chanson inédite aired regularly on Saturday evenings on Programme parisien in 1956 and 1957.[1][2][3] Its third season started on 7 April 1956, with finals held on 7 July 1956.[4][5] The program was directed by Michel du Plessis and presented by Maurice Yvain and Louis Poterat, with an orchestra led by Franck Pourcel accompanying the artists.[3]

Of the two French songs chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest, "Il est là" 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.[6]

Programs of the season prior to Eurovision
Date Artists and songs Ref.
7 April 1956
  • Jean-Fred Mêlé – "Chanson pour Sylvie"
  • Hélène Romanée – "T'es dingue"
  • Jean-Pierre Dujay – "C‘est notre amour"
  • Germaine Duclos – "Pas la peine de s‘en faire"
 [3]
14 April 1956
  • Rose Deshayes – "Un grand amour"
  • Aimée Doniat – "Les Démoiselles de Neuilly"
  • Wilma Nor – "La Chanteuse de blues"
  • Serge Reval – "Te souviens-tu ?"
 [7]
21 April 1956
  • Germaine Duclos – "Pas d‘baratin"
  • Bob et Dyna – "Les Pêcheurs de Floride"
  • Jack Gauthier – "Oh ! la ! di ! hé !"
  • Laura Mellec – "Souvenirs"
 [8]
28 April 1956
  • Danièle Georges – "Ta chanson, mon amour"
  • Jean Veldy – "Le Napolitain"
  • Françoise Guy – "Prends cette lettre"
  • Jacques Lambert – "Habits, Chiffons"
 [9]
5 May 1956
  • Hélène Romanée – "Le Chapeau fleuri"
  • Roger Perrinoz – "Les Ponts du paradis"
  • Marina Audrey – "Il est là"
  • Jean-Pierre Hébrard – "Déclaration légale"
 [6][10]
12 May 1956
  • Jean Lambert – "Alger la blanche"
  • Hélène Romanée – "La Pêche aux goujons"
  • Jack Gauthier – "Jojo le catcheur"
  • Nadia Dauty [fr] – "Ballade à Paris"
 [11]
19 May 1956
  • Georgie Viennet [fr] – "Il n‘y a pas de bonheur sans nuages"
  • Maria Stella
  • Rose Deshayes – "Baïon frénétique"
  • Raymond Falgayrac – "Pour le meilleur et pour le pire"
 [12]

"Le Temps perdu", written by André Lodge (music) and Rachèle Thoreau [fr] (lyrics), and "Il est là", written by Simone Vallauris, were chosen as the French entries.[1] It's unknown how Mathé Altéry and Dany Dauberson were ultimately selected as the participants.

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 took place at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. "Le Temps perdu", sung by Mathé Altéry, was performed 5th at the contest and "Il est là", sung by Dany Dauberson, was performed 12th.[13] Both of the French entries were conducted by Franck Pourcel.[14]

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.[15] One of the French jury members was Maurice Yvain.[16]

The full results of the contest were not revealed and have not been retained by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).[17] Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was televised in France on RTF with commentary by Michelle Rebel, and also broadcast live on radio Paris-Inter.[1][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Programmes de la télévision: Semaine du 20 au 26 Mai 1956". Télévision Programme Magazine (in French). Vol. 2, no. 30. 20 May 1956. pp. 14–15. OCLC 472721214.
  2. ^ "Le programme parisien saison 1956-1957". RadioScope (in French). Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Parisien". Radio Télévision 56 (in French). No. 597. 1 April 1956. p. 33. ISSN 1144-1224. OCLC 472571736.
  4. ^ Grassl, Andreas (October 2024). "Neues von gestern: Vorentscheidungen 1956". Euro-Voice (in German) (67): 94. OCLC 1190215751.
  5. ^ "Radiodiffusion et télévision". Le Monde (in French). 7 July 1956. p. 13. ISSN 0395-2037. OCLC 224461606. Retrieved 3 November 2024 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ a b "Parisien". Radio Télévision 56 (in French). No. 601. 29 April 1956. p. 33. ISSN 1144-1224. OCLC 472571736.
  7. ^ "Parisien". Radio Télévision 56 (in French). No. 598. 8 April 1956. p. 34. ISSN 1144-1224. OCLC 472571736.
  8. ^ "Parisien". Radio Télévision 56 (in French). No. 599. 15 April 1956. p. 34. ISSN 1144-1224. OCLC 472571736.
  9. ^ "Parisien". Radio Télévision 56 (in French). No. 600. 22 April 1956. p. 34. ISSN 1144-1224. OCLC 472571736.
  10. ^ "Parisien". Radio Cinéma Télévision (in French). No. 328. 29 April 1956. p. 34. ISSN 0481-5920. OCLC 474508236.
  11. ^ "Parisien". Radio Télévision 56 (in French). No. 602. 6 May 1956. p. 34. ISSN 1144-1224. OCLC 472571736.
  12. ^ "Parisien". Radio Télévision 56 (in French). No. 603. 13 May 1956. p. 33. ISSN 1144-1224. OCLC 472571736.
  13. ^ "Final of Lugano 1956 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  14. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 97–99. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
  15. ^ "Reglement du Grand Prix Eurovision 1956 de la Chanson Européenne (version définitive)" [Rules of the Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Competition 1956 (final version)] (PDF) (in French). European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2016.
  16. ^ Robert, Emmanuel (March–April 1989). "Le Concours Eurovision de la chanson. Première partie : 1956–1970". Bulletin du comité d‘histoire de la télévision (in French) (19): 40. ISSN 0293-1397. OCLC 1072597352.
  17. ^ "Lugano 1956 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  18. ^ "La radiodiffusion". Le Monde (in French). 23 May 1956. p. 13. ISSN 0395-2037. OCLC 224461606. Retrieved 2 November 2024 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.