France was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 with the song "", composed by Francis Baxter, with lyrics by Guy Favereau, and performed by Jean-Paul Mauric. The French participating broadcaster, (RTF), selected its entry through a national final. In addition, RTF was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the in Cannes, after winning the with the song "Tom Pillibi" by Jacqueline Boyer.
Before Eurovision National final For 1961, (RTF) opted to hold a national final, which took place on 18 February at 21:20 CET (20:20 UTC). The final was hosted by Jacqueline Joubert and directed by . Six songs took part. The artists were accompanied by the orchestra of . The winner was chosen by votes from members of the public who were telephoned by RTF's regional studios. Each of the 11 regional juries consisted of 50 viewers, with the exception of Paris where 100 viewers were telephoned.
+ Final - 18 February 1961 Artist Song Points Place 1 Christiane Lasquin "Toi pour moi, moi pour toi" 57 5 2 Isabelle Aubret "Le gars de n'importe où" 100 3 3 Arabelle "Un petit brin de musette" 31 6 4 "Printemps de Paris" 90 4 5 Jean-Paul Mauric "Printemps (avril carillonne)" 212 1 6 Bernard Stephane "Les mouettes" 109 2
+ Jury Votes Song Total "Toi pour moi, moi pour toi" 43265544571257 "Le gars de n'importe où" 5711108121094519100 "Un petit brin de musette" 13412312210231 "Printemps de Paris" 46813536111351690 "Printemps, avril carillonne" 2521121723171916171530212 "Les mouettes" 10101337101089821109
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Mauric performed 9th in the running order, following and preceding . At the close of the voting "" had received 13 points, placing France 4th of the 16 competing entries.
Voting Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.
+ Points awarded to France Score Country 4 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by France Score Country 2 points 1 point
Notes and references Notes
References