the national final was cancelled, and soon later the broadcaster announced that it had internally selected La Zarra, a Canadian singer and songwriter of Moroccan descent based in France, as the French entrant for the contest. Her competing song, "", written by Fatima Zahra Hafdi, Ahmed Saghir, Yannick Rastogi, and Zacharie Raymond, was presented to the public on 19 February 2023 during a pre-recorded showcase performance, broadcast on during the programme and hosted by Laurent Delahousse. The French Head of Delegation for the Eurovision Song Contest, Alexandra Redde-Amiel, commented on the selection: At Eurovision According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", France automatically qualified to compete in the final on 13 May 2023. In addition to its participation in the final, France was also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 31 January 2023, when it was announced that France would be voting in the first semi-final. References External links Official France 2 Eurovision site 2023 Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 Eurovision Eurovision