France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

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France was represented at Eurovision 2005 by Ortal with the song "Chacun pense à soi". For the first time since Eurovision 2000, France 3 organised a National Preselection which was hosted by Laurent Ruquier and Elsa Fayer. In March there were 2 shows: the introductory documentary on March 14th showed the selection of the candidates who were earlier selected by France 3. The program ended with a presentation of the five finalists. The National Final was aired live on March 15th where the five participants presented their song live and sang duets with famous artists. The televoting audience and a professional jury made the final decision. Ortal emerged as the popular choice with her song "Chacun Pense à Soi" (Everyone Thinks of Themself). The song is written and composed by Saad Tabainet.

Ortal, born in Israel of Berber and Andalusian origins, began singing when she is sixteen. In 2000, Ortal moved to Spain and joined the group ‘Gipsy Sound’ (Alabina) with whom she toured Europe with for two years. Ortal provided entertainment at MGM’s hotel in Las Vegas, the French première of the James Bond movie 'Tomorrow Never Dies’ in Paris, and on television in Monaco for Prince Albert’s birthday party. Ortal has performed in Tunisia and has also provided backing vocals on the albums of various French artists. Her 2005 Eurovision song is her first single which brings R&B to a mainstream audience.

Final - March 15

№	Song	Singer	Place
1	Je m'envole	Lionel Tim	3rd
2	Chacun pense à soi	Ortal	1st
3	C'est la vie	Christophe Héraut	2nd
4	Casting	Marjorie Galluccio	5th
5	Laissez moi rêver	Karine Trecy	4th

Individual Entries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

Albania - Andorra - Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Cyprus - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Israel - Latvia - Lithuania - Republic of Macedonia - Malta - Moldova - Monaco - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Russia - Serbia and Montenegro - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - United Kingdom Note: Countries in italics are semi-finalists who did not advance to the final.