In 1974, France had abandoned the Eurovision contest following the death of the President of the Republic at the time. The competition took place, in fact, on the day of national mourning and the funeral of the French head of state.
Eurovision 2023 officially started this week. While the first semi-final of this 67th edition of the competition took place this Tuesday, May 9 in the city of Liverpool in England, ten countries won their places for the grand final which will take place on May 13. This year, it is the singer La Zarra who will represent France in the famous competition. If the artist is determined to go to the end of the competition, France was forced to abandon Eurovision a very long time ago.
In 1974, the day of the Eurovision final was marked by national mourning in France. While France had been selected to participate in the 19th edition of the competition, a dramatic event turned his participation upside down. The singer Dani who was to represent the country was forced to withdraw following on the death of the President of the Republic at the time, Georges Pompidou. Indeed, the competition is scheduled on the day of national mourning and the funeral of the French Head of State.
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The abandonment of France to Eurovision in 1974
The French President passed away after a long illness. George Pompidou had Waldenström’s disease, a form of leukaemia. This is the only time France has been obliged to subscribe to the Eurovision Song Contest. However that the faithful of the emission are reassured, this year, the country will participate well in the contest. Moreover, La Zarra will propose its title Obviously which is already having great success on the web. Indeed, the clip of his song has been viewed more than 1.2 million times since its release. Will she be able to break the curse? Case to follow!