Eurovision: Louane lost, but Europe won

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Despite a disappointing seventh place, the French candidate performed well in a competition won by Austrian JJ on Saturday, May 17, in Basel. Once again, Europe's creativity and values of inclusion triumphed at this annual event.

Louane during her performance at the Eurovision final on Saturday, May 17, in Basel, Switzerland. (Denis Balibouse/REUTERS)

by François-Xavier Gomez

A French football team may win the Champions League on May 31, but the League of Songs is a done deal. Louane had legitimate ambitions with the autobiographical Maman, and the predictions made by British betting agencies promised her, at the very least, a podium finish in the Eurovision final on Saturday, May 17, in Basel. But the public vote was clear: the youngest of the Bélier family finished seventh, while the first phase, which added together the votes of the expert jury from the 37 candidate countries, placed her third.

The disappointment is great for France Télévisions, broadcaster of the competition, which has invested "like never before" , estimates