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About France...
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2004 Result
Points in Semi Final: N/A
Position in Semi Final: N/A
Points in Final: 40
Position in Final: 15th
2005 Contest: Directly qualified to Final, but only because of Big 4 status
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History (1956 to 2003)
France's previous appearances: 47 year(s) out of 48
Years participated: 1956-1981; 1983-
Best result: 1st (1958, 1960, 1962, 1969, 1977)
France is one of Eurovision's most successful nations, winning on five occasions and appearing in all but one of the 48 contests to date. However, these statistics hide a stark contrast between the country's early form (with five victories in a 20 year period between 1958 and 1977) and its more recent performance. It is now nearly thirty years since France's last Eurovision victory; perhaps, more worryingly, Celine Dion in 1988 was the last time an artist representing any country won Eurovision with a song performed in French.
France ought to have won a deserved victory in 1991, when Amina performed the unusual and beautiful 'C'est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison'. Unfortunately, France and Sweden were tied not only on points, but on the number of 'douze points' that both countries had received; in the end, Sweden's Carola clinched victory due to her entry receiving the highest number of second-placed 'dix points'. Today, the system is slightly different in that ties are resolved by counting the number of countries awarding an entry any points at all - interestingly, this rule would have delivered victory to France and Amina, given that her song received votes from 18 of the 21 other countries, compared to 17 for Sweden. Hindsight, I would suggest, has favoured France's entry; while Amina's song remains fresh and interesting, Carola's 'Fangad av en stormvind' sounds very much of its time.
Frustratingly, France has never come close to another victory, though it maintained an impressive run of top ten finishes in the early 1990s, before slumping to an undeserved 18th place for Dan Ar Braz's beautiful and unusual Breton-language 'Diwanit Bugale' in 1996. Subsequently, the country had to rely on its 'Big 4' status to avoid relegation, with poor results in 1998 (24th), 1999 (19th) and 2000 (23rd). More recently, France had a brief spell of doing well with Celine Dion-esque power ballads, finishing 4th in 2001 and 5th in 2002, though one senses that the country's dogged insistence on performing in French - beautiful language though it is - has not helped its Eurovision prospects. 2003 saw another disappointing result, with the pleasant but lightweight 'Monts et merveilles' finishing in 18th place. Fortunately, being in the 'Big 4' means that France joins the UK - another 2003 under-achiever - in qualifying for the Grand Final anyway.
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This year's entry
Position in Semi Final draw: N/A
Position in Final draw: 4
What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"In an apparent attempt to appeal across Europe, France have chosen the Spanish-origin, Belgian-born, French 'Pop Idol' winner Jonatan Cerrada as its 2004 performer. 18-year-old Jonatan was to sing the uptempo 'Laisse-moi le temps', but this was changed to the power ballad 'A chaque pas', which features Jonatan's own contribution as lyricist. On the plus side, Jonatan is a good-looking young man with a nice voice, and - through his TV talent show victory - proven experience of performing live to an audience. The song is a typical, enjoyable French ballad, but it somehow lacks the emotional power of the country's 2001 and 2002 songs. With those entries sliding easily into the top five, what can we expect of Jonatan in Istanbul?"
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What I predicted...
My prediction for Semi Final: N/A
My prediction for Final: 16th to 21st
What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"There is no doubt that Jonatan is a talented performer - his recent album 'Siempre 23' contains some excellent songs, notably the beautiful and poignant hit single 'Je voulais te dire que je t'attends'. Much will depend on how well Jonatan performs 'A chaque pas' on the night. During a live performance on French TV, he seemed to be struggling for breath during the song, so we have to hope that this is sorted out in time for the contest. Without being shallow, Jonatan's boyish appeal can only assist his ability to engage with the mother, teenage girl and gay votes - with televoting, don't discount the importance of people voting for somebody because they like the look of them. In 2003, people surely voted for Norway's Jostein as much for his winsome appeal as for his lovely song. Back to Jonatan, though - if he can belt out the song with feeling, making all those at home believe he's singing it just for them, France could secure another place in the top ten; otherwise, a finish in the mid teens seems the most likely prospect. Sadly, however, he'll need to perform miracles for it to stand a realistic chance of victory."
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What you thought...
Final Poll Ranking: out of 36 ()
(Updated 15 May 2004; change refers to movement over final week)
In the run up to the Contest, over 5,000 visitors to this site voted for their favourite song in the Soult.com Eurovision Poll.
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What actually happened
Good gracious, what a staging disaster! When you've got a cute boy in a virginal white suit, why on earth do you need to throw in a woman on stilts and four backing singers who looked like they'd travelled to Istanbul halfway through the mummifying process? Meanwhile, Jonatan's vocal performance was quite good, though he looked terrified, and had forgotten to do his hair prior to appearing on stage.
In the circumstances, 40 points and 15th place was possibly more than the French song deserved... or perhaps I'm just irritated that my prediction (16th to 21st) was so close but not quite right?
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What the bookies thought...
 | France to win: | 15/05/04 (prior to Final) | 80-1 |
| | 13/05/04 (after Semi Final) | 66-1 |
| | 11/05/04 | 50-1 |
| | 08/05/04 | 25-1 |
| | 06/05/04 | 20-1 |
| | 04/05/04 | 20-1 |
| | 31/04/04 | 20-1 |
| | 24/04/04 | 20-1 |
| | 17/04/04 | 20-1 |
| | 07/04/04 | 25-1 |
| | 24/03/04 | 25-1 |
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With odds of 80-1, France dropped off badly in the final few days. Still, 15th place was better than some people had expected.
(Odds quoted here were those offered by Coral.co.uk. 'F' indicates favourite, 'JF' joint favourite.)
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Links
 http://jonatancerrada.free.fr/
 http://www.france3.fr/
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Notes (see 'History' above)
- The 1956 Contest (where each country had two songs) is counted as a single appearance;
- Countries eliminated in the 1993 preliminary heat (EE, HU, RO, SK) ARE NOT counted as making an appearance in that year's Contest;
- Countries eliminated in the 1996 preliminary heat (DE, DK, HU, IL, MK, RO, RU) ARE NOT counted as making an appearance in that year's Contest;
- Countries eliminated in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Semi Finals ARE counted as making an appearance in that year's Contest.
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Your comments (37)
From vclad, Romania
Added 13:20:36 2006-05-02
nice very very nice song and stage presence ... unhappy it didn,t go uper :-S :-<
From amy, United Kingdom
Added 10:19:28 2006-01-31
the dates have not been announced yet. the website that i regularly go on has said that he will be announcing the dates within the first few months of 2006. wherever it is im going! on my own if i have to!
From Amy Edwards, United Kingdom
Added 20:27:37 2006-01-30
yay!! another english person who loves him!! well done mark- i love him more though :p he has a tour in 2007. are you going to go?
REPLY FROM GRAHAM: Where's he touring then?
From Amy, United Kingdom
Added 15:41:27 2006-01-27
I love Jonatan Cerrada. Still do. Always will. ever since he won French pop idol 'a la recherche de la nouvelle star'. should have won.
REPLY FROM GRAHAM: I love him too, Amy! You are not alone!
From Mark, GERMANY
Added 16:58:55 2004-5-16
Shock!
I must confess here too, that little Jonatan was really good. One of the singers of last night. But, dear France, WHAT THE HELL was that crap with stilts and peacesigns and wrapped back-singers? How much have you payed, to destroy this very nice ballad?
Unbelievable.
From Tina , AUSTRALIA
Added 15:52:11 2004-5-15
Magnifique! I LOVE THIS SONG!!!! Also the song from GREECE, "Shake It"! Best of luck to all!
From axelle, BELGIUM
Added 15:0:24 2004-5-15
voter tous pour jonatan car il est le meilleur un grande partie de la belgique est avec toi jonatan
From girl, SLOVENIA
Added 14:30:47 2004-5-13
i love this song...it's a great ballad...but i think people won't choose it because it's a ballad :((
From Poppy , NETHERLANDS
Added 14:12:33 2004-5-13
The singer that represents France this year ( Belgian right? ) is definitely a very cute boy but the song they gave him will not help him at all...unfortunately it's so boring...and why this determination in sending exclusuvely french lyrics songs? It's not helping...my opinion!
From jakie, AUSTRALIA
Added 13:28:27 2004-5-11
where can I find him and buy him and make him my pet?
www.livejournal.com/~jakie_em
From leslie, FRANCE
Added 17:48:42 2004-5-9
il faut voter pour jonatan
il est vraiment super
sa chanson est magnifique
samedi prochain nous toute la france sera devant son poste de télévision pour le soutenir
From samantha, FRANCE
Added 16:52:52 2004-5-9
jonatan cerrada has a very great talent it owes to gagner!!! all the people who live apart from France and who can vote to vote for jonatan cerrada!!il has a very beautiful voice and its song is splendid !!!
From Jorge, PORTUGAL
Added 11:12:29 2004-5-9
Bonjour, his first rehearsal today must been really weird, as it looked kind of clownsnumber with big ballons and straped backing vocalists. so many action to a ballad sounds strange to me.
From Ségo, FRANCE
Added 21:7:9 2004-5-8
Jonatan, tu as toute tes chances pour l'eurovison ! On croit en toi.. ne l'oublie jamais !
M E R D E, on croise les doigts ! Merci pour tout
From Christelle, --
Added 19:25:7 2004-5-8
France will succeed this year !
" FRance : twelve points"
What a wonderful dream which will became reality :)
From Raphie, FRANCE
Added 15:56:10 2004-5-8
For all those who don't know Jonatan Cerrada yet, and who don't like his voice or the song, I have one thing to say : you are going to be surprised... Personnaly I think the song is ok, but Jonatan knows how to make it even better. He is a wonderful singer, and has a huge personnality, you'll see it on May 15 !! I don't know if we really have a chance to win this year with such a song, but I trust him !! ALLEZ JONATAN on croit en toi tu vas leur montrer qui tu es !!!!
From jennifer, BELGIUM
Added 15:24:58 2004-5-8
Très belle chanson , toutes en simplicité mais voulant dire tellement de choses finallement...
From Stéphanie, FRANCE
Added 15:20:21 2004-5-8
Cette chanson et sublime et en + écrite en partie par Jonatan lui même ! Ce chanteur a énormément de talent ! Votez France !
From pearlyan, FRANCE
Added 14:45:58 2004-5-8
Jonatan Cerrada will offer this year a chance to gain in France. Song "A Chaque Pas" of which he wrote itself the words, is a marvellous message of hope and love in Europe....
Those which do not know Jonatan will be surprised by its charisma, its presence on scene and its maturity like by its splendid voice.
Jonatan will also allure by the emotion and the sincerity which emerge from him.
France is proud this year to be represented by such an Artist. Jonatan Cerrada, he' S the best!!!!!!
From Valloue, FRANCE
Added 13:6:6 2004-5-8
C'est sur c'est Jonatan qui va gagner car la chanson est vraiment bien écrite et bien sur bien interprèté.Va y Jona on n'est tous avec toi.
From lili, FRANCE
Added 13:0:49 2004-5-8
cette chanson est vraiment magnifque avec une mélodie sublime....j'espere que jona sera bien classé(voir gagnant!!)car il le mérite!!surtout quand on sait que c'est lui-meme qui a écrit cette magnifique chanson!!
buena suerte Jonatan!!!
From Séverine, FRANCE
Added 12:46:14 2004-5-8
Cette chanson est vraiment sublime!!
Jonatan a une voix exceptionnelle!!
Il a vraiment tout pour gagner!!
From Panayotis, GREECE
Added 3:30:18 2004-5-6
Just a ballad for most, but it's got something that makes me listen to it again and again. The singer does not have really "big lungs", as you can probably hear it, but the song remains really nice to my personal opinion. We'll see what happens. Bonne chance France.
From Manu, BELGIUM
Added 22:40:38 2004-5-3
Not a bad song but I'm afraid it'll be easily forgotten. Who will remember it at the end of the contest? Very few people I think. Anyhow expect a 10 or 12 points from Belgium because he's very popular here and his fans will give him a massive support. But this will 1 vote out of 36.
From Robin J, SWEDEN
Added 14:24:28 2004-5-2
I'm not a ballad-person, but I love this and listens to it over and over again without being tired of it. And I'm not into young guys either, but I must admit he looks very cute. My only fear is that it will "drown" with so many ballads in the contest... (germany, norway, UK, iceland...) but this - together with iceland - is the best one...
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France
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