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French minister calls for Eurovision winner to be disqualified if singer fails drug test

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
French minister calls for Eurovision winner to be disqualified if singer fails drug test
France's entry, Barbara Pravi, said she didn't care whether Måneskin had used drugs or not. Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP

France's Europe minister on Monday called for "total transparency" over speculation that one of Italy's victorious Eurovision contestants used cocaine during the song contest, saying it should be grounds for disqualification if confirmed.

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Damiano David, the outlandish vocalist for Italian rockers Måneskin, has agreed to take a drug test after video footage appeared to show him snorting something from a table backstage during Saturday's contest.

"I think there needs to be no doubt here, and total transparency," Europe Minister Clement Beaune, who attended the show in Rotterdam, told RMC radio. "If there is a problem, there are penalties... Provisions are made for sanctioning measures, including potential disqualification in case of problems." 

French hopes had been riding high on singer Barbara Pravi, who was a bookmakers' favourite to end France's 44-year Eurovision drought with her
moody ballad "Voila."

But she was edged out at the last minute by a surge in public votes for Måneskin, with a final tally of 524 to Pravi's 499.

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"I don't want to be a sore loser," Beaune said, but "in terms of image, we can't let people think that such competitions can result in such behaviour."

The president of France's public broadcasting group, however, said Monday that France would not contest its second-place finish, no matter the speculation over David's backstage antics.

"France has absolutely no intention to lodge an appeal," France Televisions chief Delphine Ernotte told the Parisien newspaper. "The vote was quite clearly in Italy's favour -- it didn't steal its
victory and that's what matters," she said.

Pravi herself said she was not interested in the speculation.

"What's true is that they were chosen by both the public and the jury. Afterwards, if they use drugs or they put their underwear on backwards or whatever... it's not my problem," she told France 2 television on Sunday.

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Anonymous 2021/05/25 13:21
Surprising that anybody's even interested, this contest is a real low point for music. Having said that, to finish with zero points you really have to apply yourself to being bad !
Anonymous 2021/05/24 21:20
Total respect for Barbara Pravi. Class act.
  • Anonymous 2021/05/24 21:44
    Great performance, she even sang live. Remember that? But the british 'singer' was a revelation. He had a whole musical scale of his own. To sing a whole song without a single recognisable chromatic note was a tremendous achievement.
Anonymous 2021/05/24 14:57
“I don’t want to be a sore loser,” Beaune said, but I am.
  • Anonymous 2021/05/24 18:18
    Indeed. My thoughts as well.

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