5 things to know about France's 2024 Eurovision song

France announced on Wednesday that it has selected its entry for the 2024 version of the pan-European song contest, held in Sweden in May - Mon Amour by Slimane. 

 

Here's what you need to know about the song;

1 It's in French 

You might think it's obvious that France's song would be in French, but in recent years more and more countries have been sending songs sung in English to the contest - and the statistics suggest that English-language songs are more likely to win.

This, however, does not sit well with France's famed protectiveness about its language.

Nevertheless, over the past decade France has sent several songs that had at least some English words in them, usually a chorus or refrain - and each time it resulted in angry headlines and even questions in parliament (and France didn't even win).

The songs for 2023 and 2021 were in French, while 2022's entry was sung in the French regional language of Breton.

This year, however, Mon Amour (My love) is 100 percent French. 

2 It's sung by Slimane

Some countries send their chart-topping artists to Eurovision, but France has recently opted for less well-known artists, probably because the contest isn't taken as seriously in France as it is in countries like Norway and Sweden. 

This year, however, they've picked the well-known singer Slimane - not only has he had several hits that you've probably heard on French radio he is a former winner of The Voice and is also one of the judges on the kids version of The Voice in France. 

Slimane (full name Slimane Nebchi) was born in the Paris suburbs to parents of Algerian descent - before his music career took off he worked for a telecoms company in the Paris suburb of Les Lilas. 

3 It's not a drag act 

France's entry is not chosen by a public vote, instead TV broadcasters pick the entry, but this year there was an online campaign to send Sara Forever, a popular drag queen who featured in the French Drag Race.

Her song Madame Forever picked up a lot of love online, and Sara herself said that "no-one could say no to Eurovision" but was ultimately not allowed because it had been released before the cut-off date of September 1st 2023 - the Eurovision rules state that a new, unreleased song is required for the contest. 

 

4 It's a love song

France has a long track record of sending love songs, and this year is no different. 

Mon amour is addressed to a lover where the relationship appears to have run into trouble - the singer is beseeching the loved one to remember the good times and say whether they still love him or not.

Verse

Mon amour
Dis-moi à quoi tu penses
Si tout ça à un sens
Désolé si j’te dérange
Mon amour
Te souviens-tu de nous ?
Du premier rendez-vous ?
C’était beau, c’était fou

(My love
Tell me what you're thinking
If any of this makes sense
Sorry if I'm bothering you
My love
Do you remember us?
Our first date?
It was beautiful, it was crazy)

Chorus

Je t’aime
J’sais pas pourquoi
Je rejoue la scène
Et c’est toujours la même fin qui recommence
Tu n’entends pas ma peine
On en fait quoi ?
Est-ce que tu m’aimes ?
Ou pas ?

(I love you
I don't know why
I replay the scene
And it's always the same ending over again
You don't hear my pain
What are we gonna do about it?
Do you love me?
Or not?)

Love songs generally do quite well at Eurovision - here's Sweden's iconic interval act from 2016 explaining why songs about love and peace are sure-fire Eurovision hits.

 

5 It's going to Sweden

Speaking of Sweden - they won last time so will be hosting the 2024 contest.

It will be held in the city of Malmö - and if you're planning a visit here's the definitive guide from our colleagues at The Local Sweden. 

Hotels, tickets and scams: What you need to know to visit Malmo for Eurovision