Eurovision: why does France persist in singing in English?

"You are the best in me" in 2020, "You can never remove my crown" in 2019, "You're the one who's making me strong" in 2017… Almost every year, it's the same refrain: France presents a song in French and in English, and the singers of the Francophonie take offense at this choice.

After the revelation Sunday of "The Best In Me", the title that singer Tom Leeb will defend at Eurovision in three months, the former Secretary of State for the Francophonie André Vallini has split a little criticism on Twitter: “Three sentences in French and everything else in English! It is definitely becoming more and more difficult to defend the influence of our language! Distressing, ”he laments.

Discover the title of @TomLeebOfficial for # Eurovision: "The best in me" pic.twitter.com/JwzohferaU

Over the last six editions of Eurovision, France has presented four songs mixing French and English, including that of Tom Leeb. Why such a craze for the language of Shakespeare? Because "it is a very good way to stay in a language understood by a good part of the countries of Europe", details the journalist Fabien Lecoeuvre, specialist in French song, who commented on the competition for several years for Radio France. "We can't go against the time, today, all the young people are practically bilingual," says the specialist, who considers that the program is no longer as "old-fashioned" as before.

The public's argument is also that invoked by Edoardo Grassi, former head of the French delegation to Eurovision. "A song with a chorus in English allows you to reach the target of Eurovision, a European and young audience very present on social networks", he explained in 2016 to defend the choice of the song "I searched" d 'Amir, in English. "We believe that if we send a message in English, it will earn more points," adds journalist Sébastien Barké, Eurovision specialist.

This debate on the place of English, according to the specialist, is typical of France, and this since the release of "White and black blues" by Joëlle Ursull, written by Serge Gainsbourg, in 1990. Other European countries, especially those further north, ask fewer questions about the choice of English to defend themselves at Eurovision. “Belgium, it has been years since they abandoned French, and that does not upset them. […] As for the Scandinavians, when they organize their Melodifestivalen (the telecrochet which designates their candidate, Editor's note), there are always songs in Swedish. But they are still being eliminated, ”he explains.

"Europeans want to hear French"

It is true that, over the entire history of the competition, songs in English have won Eurovision the most (29 victories), just ahead of those in French (14 victories). The lifting of the obligation to sing in its national language in 1999 has also accelerated the movement.

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Since then, only two countries have won Eurovision with a song that was not in English: Serbia in 2007, and Portugal in 2017. Note also the example of Italy, which came second in the year last with a piece of rap.

It is only recently that France has ranked a little better with bilingual songs. "What has really changed in recent years is the choice of songs," analyzes Sébastien Barké. “We chose more catchy songs, especially with Amir, which remains the best recent ranking. "

This does not mean, however, that France must ignore its national language. "When a song is good, you don't necessarily need English. I think Europeans want to hear French, ”defends Sébastien Barké. The five winning songs from France (the last one dating back to 1977) were all in French.

More catchy songs

For this year, the choice of English seemed logical for Tom Leeb, since it is the language he favors in his compositions. The objective displayed by the entertainment management of France Televisions would be above all to “get closer to the podium”. Last year, Bilal Hassani and his "King" only came 16th in the ranking out of 26 participating countries. It has been more than 40 years since France had won the competition.

“We often hear the rumor that we don't want to win because we don't want to organize it, but it's false. Since the show is on France 2, the dream of the French team is to win, ”says Sébastien Barké.

A victory that seems distant, according to Fabien Lecoeuvre. “There are too many nations in Eurovision, too many different cultures. […] The vote is based on groupings made on religious, political, geopolitical and social bases. The song is no longer the reason for the vote, "he saddens.