Eurovision had one of its craziest nights in sixty-five years of history on Saturday night.
With an unbreathable suspense, a scent of scandal and an unprecedented runaway.
It was even Sunday morning: at 0h50, the 5.5 million French viewers are barely recovering from the defeat on the wire, for 25 small points, of Barbara Pravi, beaten in Rotterdam (Netherlands), almost at the photo-finish, by the Italian rockers of Maneskin: 524 points against 499 for her.
The best French performance for thirty years!
But a stealthy live image is going viral on social media.
Twitter ignites as rarely between 1 am and 2 am: the transalpine singer, while awaiting the results in the "Green Room" of the candidates, makes a strange gesture by lowering his head before breathing his finger.
A white powder hidden under the table?
Or just advanced drunkenness?
The excitement is such that one evokes an embarrassment within the organization of the competition.
During the press conference, singer Damiano David categorically denies any drug use and declares himself ready to undergo a test.
🇫🇷 499 points for #BarbaraPravi.
Second Place.
A beautiful course.
Best ranking for France since 1991. #Eurovision.
Direct ▶ ️ https://t.co/qorZ4qGoCa pic.twitter.com/jPwG7qOVPt
- France 2 (@ France2tv) May 22, 2021
At Eurovision, everything is political. During the evening, Emmanuel Macron had encouraged, then congratulated for his second place Barbara Pravi, who replied to him this Sunday on social networks with a funny "Thank you m'sieur the President". The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, invited by RTL, made his comment this Sunday: “It is up to the Eurovision's ethics committee to decide, if there is a problem. I do not want to interfere in this jury, it is not my competence. Eurovision is responsible for the honor of this competition, and if there is a need for testing, they will do it. "
State matter ?
Not really.
"Whatever the result of the test, France has no intention of filing a complaint at all," warns Delphine Ernotte.
The boss of France Télévisions, who manages the French delegation and chairs the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is a good player.
“The vote is extremely clear in favor of Italy.
She didn't steal her victory and that's what matters.
Eurovision is a healthy competition, without a big deal, with a lot of fair play and friendship between the teams and we have to keep that spirit.
We want to win, but we will be happy to go to Italy next year.
And we will win the fair.
"
Broken glass was found on site
According to our information, the EBU, organizer of the competition, nevertheless took the matter very seriously and called the Italian delegation to account as soon as it learned of the controversy. "The group, their management and the head of the delegation told us that a glass was broken at their table and that it was being cleaned by the singer," said the EBU in a statement on Sunday. The EBU can confirm that broken glass was found there. The body asked the musician to do a screening but failed to find an available laboratory in Rotterdam overnight. "We are aware of the speculation surrounding the images of the Italian winners," she explains in her press release. The singer will undergo a voluntary screening test after arriving in Italy this Sunday evening.
If the latter is positive, can the hard-rock group be disqualified and cede its victory to France? No. It is stipulated in the Eurovision Song Contest that all delegations must respect “the values of the competition”, in particular the absence of brand advertising and political stance. “But there is nothing on drugs and the Italian case is a first in the history of Eurovision, analyzes Stéphane Chiffre, the president of the French Eurofans. The rare times there was a downgrade, it was because of a voting problem, nothing else. The EBU's strategy is still to protect his brand, but if the Italian singer is found to be drugged, it will likely end in a fine. France will not win on the green carpet. "
