This morning, the much-awaited French national final - 'Eurovision France: C'est vous qui décidez' - was broadcast live on France 2.
After two rounds of voting, the winner of the national final was Alvan & Ahez with their ethno-bop 'Fulenn'. They are therefore the recipients of France's ticket to Turin in May.
Full Results
The results of the superfinal were as follows:
The six songs in the superfinal were selected in a first round of voting, with five songs being picked by the televote. One further song - Cyprien Zeni, with 'Ma Famille' - was chosen by the jury.
The six songs that missed out on a place in the superfinal were:
Julia - 'Chut'
Saam - 'Il est où ?'
Joan - 'Madame'
Joanna - 'Navigateur'
Hélène in Paris - 'Paris mon amour'
Elia - 'Téléphone'
During the programme, France's 2021 Eurovision entrant Barbara Pravi made her long-awaited return to the stage, where she performed her Eurovision entry 'Voilà'. Barbara, of course, won France their best Eurovision result in many years when she came second with 499 points.
The program also opened with a sombre reminder of the ongoing devastation in Ukraine via a performance of 'Pray for Ukraine', a song by Eurovision 2013 artist Zlata Ognevich. Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala also delivered a sombre video message calling for Europe to end the war in Ukraine.
During the interval, the 12 participants came together to sing a cover of John Lennon's 'Imagine'.
Who are Alvan & Ahez?
‘Fulenn’ brings together an up-and-coming DJ and producer (Alvan) and a traditional Breton-language singing group (Ahez) to produce an unashamed ethno-banger. ‘Fulenn’ follows in the steps of Go_A, Tanxugueiras and others to produce something that melds electronic sounds with a uniquely Breton text and sensibility.
For those who aren't up on their French geography, Bretagne (perhaps better-known in English as Brittany) is a region of France situated at the country’s western-most peninsula. It is popular with tourists and is notable because the region has its own language (Breton) which bears more in common with the Celtic languages of the United Kingdom than it does the French language.
The lyrics of 'Fulenn' tell the story of a woman who dances in the light of a bonfire, conveying themes of social emancipation and liberation. With an energetic performance this morning, Alvan & Ahez conveyed these themes even for those who can't understand Breton - they will be another strong French representative at Eurovision 2022 in May.
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