France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big 4", France automatically qualified to compete in the final on 29 May 2010.^[13] In addition to their participation in the final, France is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 7 February 2010, France was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 27 May 2010.^[14][15] The EBU's Reference Group later approved a request by the French broadcaster for France to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 27 May 2010 instead due to scheduling problems.^[16]

In France, the first semi-final was broadcast live on France 4 with commentary by Peggy Olmi and Yann Renoard with the second semi-final broadcast on France 4 via a tape delay, while the final was broadcast live on France 3 with commentary by Cyril Hanouna and Stéphane Bern.^[17] The French spokesperson, who announced the French votes during the final, was Audrey Chauveau.

Jessy Matador took part in technical rehearsals on 22 and 23 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 28 and 29 May. This included the jury final on 28 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided through another draw on 23 March 2010 and France was subsequently placed to perform in position 18, following the entry from Ukraine and before the entry from Romania.

The French performance featured Jessy Matador on stage wearing a white waistcoat and grey trousers and performing a choreographed routine with five backing performers, including three dancers and two backing vocalists: Nedjim Mahtallah and Jessie Fasano.^[18] During the performance, Matador made use of the stage catwalk and together with the backing performers concluded the performance by performing a tribal chant. The stage colours were predominately yellow with blue and gold lighting which displayed the word "Allez". The performance also featured smoke, pyrotechnic and flame effects.^[19][20] France placed twelfth in the final, scoring 82 points.

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that France had placed eighth with the public televote and twenty-second with the jury vote. In the public vote, France scored 151 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 34 points.^[21]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to France and awarded by France in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to France (Final)^[22]

Score	Country
12 points
10 points
8 points	Finland  Greece
7 points	Denmark  Portugal
6 points	Armenia  Iceland  Ireland
5 points
4 points	Norway  Serbia
3 points	Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia  Cyprus  Germany  Israel  Slovenia
2 points	Malta  Spain  United Kingdom
1 point	Estonia  Macedonia

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