Simple staging is what France bring to Lisbon with Madame Monsieur and their entry Mercy. Will this simple staging have a big impact on the grand final stage? Or have other entries impressed more, that this early favourite’s staging may not quite be enough.

As a member of the Big 5 France is automatically qualified for the final. They are represented by Madame Monsieur and the song Mercy, which is written by Émilie Satt Jean-Karl Lucas, who are the two members in the duo.

Gallery

Second Rehearsal

Opinions expressed during our second rehearsal coverage are personal from the mentioned writers.

Jens Erik, Denmark (from the arena) Mercy was not my favourite to win Destination Eurovision – but it’s certainly my favourite to win Eurovision Song Contest 2018. It goes straight to my heart and it furthermore gives me Eurovision winner vibes. It’s a very open year and difficult to predict who’s going to win, but it’s certainly my favourite to win Eurovision Song Contest 2018. It goes straight to my heart and it furthermore gives me Eurovision winner vibes. It’s a very open year and difficult to predict who’s going to win, but – based on watching Mercy in the arena – We could all very well be heading for Paris next year. It’s simple, yet perfect.

Michael, United Kingdom (from press centre) Expectations are high for this French entry and it’s hard to make an informed decision since we’ve heard it so often. The story touches everyone and as a result a good placing on the scoreboard is expected for that reason alone. The performance is definitely basic, the duo solely relying on the song to sell itself. The draw France gets will be very important for them this year. No matter what, this is an excellent song that will be a classic in years to come.

First Rehearsal

During Mercy, there is only the colour blue in the background and some play with the lights. Less is sometimes more, that’s probably what French delegation had on it’s mind when preparing the staging for Madame Monsieur.

Similar to Italy, the duo is in the centre of the stage and they wear the same (or very similar) clothes as they had in Destination Eurovision the French national final. Around the half of the song, Émilie and Jean-Karl split and go in opposite ways to the catwalk to meet there again and stay on that part of the stage until the end. In the final moments of the song they also switch places as they walk all over the catwalk. Surprise surprise, parts of the choreography are again similar to the Italian one. But still, the songs are completely different.

With France climbing up in the odds. It will be yet interesting to see if this staging sees them continuing to climb or whether it will kick them down.

How Madame Monsieur was chosen

France decided to select this year’s contestants by national selection, the first time they have done so since 2014. The selection show Destination Eurovision consisted of three shows which consisted of two semi finals and one final. 18 contestants competed overall with just 8 of these earning a place into the final.

In the live final which was aired on the 27th January. Each competing act had to sing two songs, one being their contest entry and the second being a duet with a well-known artist.

Madame Monsieur placed third with the international jury but won by a landslide in the public televote. Luckily for them it gave them enough points to be declared the winners of the contest.

France at the Eurovision Song Contest

France is only one of seven countries that competed during the first ever Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Two years later they won the contest for the first time thanks to André Claveau with Dors, mon amour (Sleep, My Love). France won a further four times with their final victory being in 1977. Their success at the contest has been sporadic since the start of the 21st century and have only earned a top 10 place twice in the past 15 years. Amir was the last artist to do this in 2016 who finished in 6th place with J’ai cherché.