France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

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Virginie Pouchain represented France in Athens with Il était temps.

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 particpants, 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.

Matheson Bayley playing the cello on stage

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.