France: Alma picked for Eurovision 2017

The French broadcasters France 2 and France 4 have internally picked 28 years old Alma to represent their country at Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv with the song "Requiem".

Requiem is written and composed by Nazim Khaled, who also co-wrote Amir's "J'ai Cherché" last year. The song can be categorized as "gloriously piano-driven radio ready piece with a joyful chorus infused with some gypsy-flavoured pop synths". Lyrics for Alma - "Requiem"

Alma

Alexandra Maquet ("Alma") is 28 years old, currently living in Paris.

She hopes for support in Eurovision:
– I'm deeply honoured to have been selected to represent my country, France, at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
– I strongly hope to count on the public's love and support to deliver the best performance possible

Alma is an emerging star on digital platforms and has been named as one of the most promising young artists of 2017. Her introduction came in June last year, when she released "La chute est lente" with great success.

Follow Alma:

Facebook: @almaofficiel
Instagram: alma_officiel
Twitter: @almaofficiel

France 2 opened an online submission from 13 September to 30 November 2016 for songs for Eurovision 2017. The lyrics of the songs had to contain at least 80% French language. At the end of the submission period France Télévisions received 300 songs.

France in Eurovision Song Contest

France is a grand old country in Eurovision. They have participated 59 times since the start of Eurovision in 1956. The best results are five victories in 1977, 1969, 1962, 1960, 1958. The latest victory was in 1977 - 38 years ago! The worst result was in 2014, where France ended last in the Grand Final, and in the last 14 years, they only managed twice to be in top-10. France is a member of "Big 5", so they don't have to go through the semi-final-qualifications, but are automatically qualified for the Grand Finals.