France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986
| Eurovision Song Contest 1986 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |
 France | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | L'Eurovision 1986 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 22 March 1986 | |||
| Selected entrant | Cocktail | |||
| Selected song | "Européennes" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 17th, 13 points | |||
| France in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
France was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, held in Bergen, Norway.
The French national final to select their entry, L'Eurovision 1986, was held on 22 March at the SFP Studios in Paris, and was hosted by Patrice Laffont, a famous game show host well known for hosting Des chiffres et des lettres.
Fourteen songs made it to the national final, which was broadcast by Antenne 2 across France and to the overseas departments. The winner was decided by a sample of television viewers who were telephoned at random and asked their opinion of each song.
The winning entry was "Européennes," performed by the quartet Cocktail and composed by Georges Costa and Michel Costa.
National final
| Draw | Artist | Song | Informal translation | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daisy Clerc | Homme de lumière | Man of light | 133 | 3rd |
| 2 | Véronique Bodoin | Paris le dimanche matin | Paris on Sunday morning | 30 | 13th |
| 3 | Sandrine Doukhan | J'aimerai demain | I will love tomorrow | 63 | 7th |
| 4 | Christine Gavalet | Nuit blanche | White night | 35 | 12th |
| 5 | Yves de Roubaix | Vivre longtemps | To live a long time | 147 | 2nd |
| 6 | King Kong & Les Limousines | Stop l'amour, pas d'amour | Stop love, without love | 67 | 6th |
| 7 | Duo Plaisir | Eurovision | Eurovision | 43 | 9th (tie) |
| 8 | Cocktail | Européennes | European girls | 158 | 1st |
| 9 | Claire Axèle | Mélodie | Melody | 76 | 5th |
| 10 | Jean-Louis Richerme | La roue tourne | The wheel turns | 43 | 9th (tie) |
| 11 | Catherine Perbost | Fils d'Ellington | Son of Ellington | 36 | 11th |
| 12 | Marc Juillet | Je vis dans un rêve | I live in a dream | 55 | 8th |
| 13 | Sonja Wiggers | Le cœur branché | The connected heart | 24 | 14th |
| 14 | Lucille Marciano | Comme une chanteuse de blues | Like a blues songstress | 113 | 4th |
At Eurovision
Before performing at Bergen, Cocktail changed their name to Cocktail Chic. They were the third act on the night of the Contest, following Yugoslavia and preceding Norway. At the close of the voting the song had received 13 points, placing 17th in a field of 20 competing countries. At the time it was the worst placing for France in the Contest's history.