France ’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was selected in a national final consisting of talent search performers . It was held on 14 March and the public and a panel of experts , presided by Charles Aznavour , combined to select the winner . Before that , there were seven regional auditions including some in France 's overseas territories . Virginie Pouchain was selected to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song '' Vous , c'est nous '' ( '' You are us '' ) , but the song was later changed to '' Il était temps '' ( '' It was time '' ) , as Virginie complained to the songwriter , Corneille Nyungura , that it did not suit her style . The song was composed by Corneille Nyungura & Virginie Pouchain . Virginie Pouchain is a 26-year-old hairdresser , who decided to take part in ‘ Entrée des Artistes ’ , a musical show hosted by Pascal Sevran . Virginie won that competition and along with three other participants , she entered '' Et si c ' était vous ? , '' the French broadcaster 's national final for Eurovision , which was intended to have new talents emerge . Out of 21 participants , she was chosen to move on to the next round of the competition along with two others after she interpreted Céline Dion 's French hit , '' Pour que tu m ' aimes encore '' . She won the final after gaining the jury 's and televoters ' support to gain selection for Athens . < ! -- Commented out because image was deleted : Pouchain was accompanied on stage by Matheson Bayley , the first ever British person to be involved in a French entry at Eurovision . As France is one of the top four donors to the European Broadcasting Union , it gained automatic entry to the final . Pouchain 's song finished 22nd out of 24 entries , with just 5 votes compared to the 292 polled by winners Lordi of Finland
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006