France will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö (Sweden) by the singer of Algerian origin Slimane (full name Slimane Nebchi, Slimane Nebchi), the winner of the French “The Voice” in 2016. This is reported by Le Monde.
After two consecutive failures in the competition with aspiring artists, France bet on the singer, whose career is now at its peak.
Slimane already boasts several musical achievements: in 2020, his duet album Versus with singer Vitaa topped the sales charts in France, while their joint song “Everything comes and goes” (Ça va ça vient) won the Victoire de la Musique award for “original song”.
Slimane’s song “Des milliers de je t’aime” (Thousands of “I Love You”) has racked up more than 30 million listens on streaming service Spotify.
According to Alexandra Redde-Amiel, director of entertainment and games at France Télévisions, France is this time “relying on an artist who is already in the hearts of the French and on the cusp of a great career.”
In 2009 France sent Patricia Kaas to the competition, she is a well-known singer but the peak of her popularity was in the 1980s and 1990s. After a superb performance by Barbara Pravi in 2021, who came second, France was represented at the 2022 contest by up-and-coming performers Alvan & Ahez, earning a penultimate 24th place. In 2023, La Zarra, a French-Canadian of Moroccan descent, went to the European showpiece; she placed 16th and drew criticism by showing her middle finger to the cameras during the final vote count.
In 2024, France decided to go the way of Sweden, which was represented by Loreen (Loreen) at Eurovision 2023.
“Loreen was already very well known in Sweden and in this case the country is more likely to support its candidate in the international competition,” Redde-Amiel explained the strategy.
France last won Eurovision in 1977, when it was represented by singer Marie Myriam.
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