Prior to the 2016 Contest , France had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-eight times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in . France first won the contest in 1958 with " Dors , mon amour " performed by André Claveau . In the 1960s , they won three times , with " Tom Pillibi " performed by Jacqueline Boyer in 1960 , " Un premier amour " performed by Isabelle Aubret in 1962 and " Un jour , un enfant " performed by Frida Boccara , who won in 1969 in a four-way tie with the Netherlands , Spain and the United Kingdom . France 's fifth victory came in 1977 , when Marie Myriam won with the song " L'oiseau et l'enfant " . France have also finished second four times , with Paule Desjardins in 1957 , Catherine Ferry in 1976 , Joëlle Ursull in 1990 and Amina in 1991 , who lost out to Sweden 's Carola in a tie-break . In the 21st century , France has had less success , only making the top ten three times , with Natasha St-Pier finishing fourth in 2001 , Sandrine François finishing fifth in 2002 and Patricia Kaas finishing eighth in 2009 . In 2015 , the nation finished in twenty-fourth place with the song " N'oubliez pas " performed by Lisa Angell
L'oiseau et l'enfant
L'oiseau et l'enfant
France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016