Friday's French music break - Lisa Angell, "N'oubliez pas"

France wins the Eurovision Song Contest after 38 year long wait.

Well, that might well be the dream of France Télévisions executives who, in their infinite wisdom, have chosen a song that could have sealed victory several decades ago.

But that "dream" risks becoming a repeat nightmare of last year's final place entry when Twin Twin (who?) managed just two measly points.

Hoping for better things (well, let's face it, they could hardly get worse) France has plumped for another act largely unknown to the domestic audience to fly the tricolore at this year's annual "music" fest to be held in Vienna, Austria.

Lisa Angell will warble her way to Eurovision obscurity with the perhaps worryingly premonitive "N'oubliez pas" ("Don't forget").

Lisa Angell (screenshot from "N'oubliez pas")

Yep, while 21 of the 27 countries appearing in the final have opted to sing in the musical lingua franca of English (or "la la" approximative versions of it anyway), France has decided steadfastly to buck the trend by insisting on sending someone along singing a "proper" French entry...and that means in French.

Not that "la langue de Molière" will help improve Angell's chances though, as the song is dated, probably lacking in real appeal and instantly forgettable the moment it has finished.

And that can be an important element in Eurovision voting (you can decide for yourselves how weighted and unfair/fair it might be, there has been much...far too much...written on that subject)

as Angell will be the second act to take to the stage on Saturday and might well have become a foggy memory by the time all 27 countries have "done their stuff".

"Gifted with a powerful voice" and "extremely proud and happy to represent her country...with a song of hope and peace, of courage and solidarity," Angell may well be.


But that's unlikely to impress the millions who'll be watching the televised marathon, and France looks set to wait a little (lot) longer for that seemingly evasive Eurovision win.

Which is a shame, as there is so much (young) talent around that could have reflected the true nature and variety of the French music scene, such as The Avener, Cats on Trees, Marina Kaye, Louane Emera, Kendji Girac, Christina and the queens...to name just a few.

But hey. This is Eurovision - and more often than not it's the lowest common denominator that counts which, come to think of it, is probably the only thing to be said in Angell's favour.

Take a listen.

Try not to yawn.

And "enjoy" this week's Friday's French music break.

Plagiarism claims levelled against French Eurovision hopefuls Twin Twin

France hasn't even chosen its contestant to place poorly in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, but already one of the contenders is creating a buzz.

And not for the right reasons.

The confusingly (purposefully) named trio Twin Twin are being accused by many of having "plagiarised" one of 2013's biggest-selling songs in France in an effort...well presumably to make it through as France's representative at this year's songfest to be held in the Danish capital Copenhagen in May.

Twin Twin (screenshot from France 3 television)

Their group's song, "Moustache", bears more than a passing resemblance to Belgian singer Stromae's (excellent) "Papaoutai" with a dash of former child star Jordy's 1992 hit (the ghastly) "Dur dur d'être bébé!" thrown in for good measure.

If you need a bit of convincing, close your eyes and take a listen to Twin Twin and Stromae back-to-back or you could listen to all three titles (just click on the links provided) on the mashup made by DJs on Virgin radio.





The group has admitted there is some (!!!) similarity at the beginning of both their song and that of Stromae, but has denied accusations of plagiarism saying that the song was written a year before the release of Belgian singer's album ("Racine carrée").

"We're flattered to be compared with Stromae," the group said. "He's a great artist but the word 'plagiarised' isn't really appropriate."

All right. How about "copied" then?

France hasn't won the Eurovision Song Contest since 1977 and in recent years has placed (to say the least) poorly.

The usual method for choosing the country's entry has been for the execs at France Télévisions to choose an artist and then the song.

All very democratic and hugely unsuccessful producing a string of also-rans with last year's entry from Amandine Bourgeois finishing in 23rd place.

So a change of strategy this year with three artists and three songs being put to a public vote.

They are of course "Moustache" from Twin Twin, a semi-finalist in a past edition of Star Academy Joanna, singing "Ma liberté" (you can listen that here) and "Sans toi" - an English-French mix from the group Destan

All three acts have already performed at the so-called National Finals televised on France 3 and it's now up to the public to decide which one will represent the country in Copenhagan in May.

The "winner" will be revealed towards the end of February.

France 2 prime time news hits five-month ratings high

France 2 can give itself a well-deserved pat on the back.

Its prime time news is once again flying high (so to speak) in the television ratings (handbags at dawn scenario).

Helpfully for those in France who might have a tendency to forget certain things or find televison schedules confusing, both TF1 - the country's main private channel - and France 2 (public TV)  broadcast their flagship news at exactly the same time every evening - 8 pm.

Right now there are stand-ins for the regular weekday anchors who are taking a well-deserved summer break.

Julien Arnaud is filling in for Gilles Bouleau on TF1 while over at France 2 another Julian - but this time with an "a" as in Bugier - is keeping the chair warm for the regular host David Pujadas.

And Bugier seems to be doing a great job because France 2 news has just achieved a "record rating" (or at least the highest since March 2013) with 4.4 million viewers tuning in for Monday evening's edition.

Part of the reason probably is the "show" immediately preceding the news.

France 2 has the rights to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, and Monday evening was one of the highlights (for the French) with the country's Olympic champion pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie going for gold.

To the disappointment of those watching and the suitably OTT and annoying commentator Patrick Montel, Lavillenie only managed silver.

But the other most likely reason for the upswing in ratings is Bugier himself.

The 32-year-old is personable, professional and...as these things clearly matter in a visual medium - has a face definitely made for television.

Julian Bugier - he looks good even in blurred screenshots (from France 2)

Bugier, you might remember, was the anchor who put journalist Robert Ménard firmly in his place about his opinions on the death penalty during an exchange when both men were working for i>Télé back in 2010.

He joined France 2 in July 2011, firstly as the stand-in (or "joker") for the weekend anchor  Laurent Delahousse when he was away, and then two months exchanging roles with Marie Drucker to become the replacement for Pujadas when the regular anchor was on leave.

A "unifying" moment of radio silence for Jean-François Copé

If you turn on your radio on a Sunday morning in France and tune in to Europe 1 at 10 o'clock, then you'll be able to hear arguably one of the country's most experienced and perhaps political journalists, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach, grilling his guests on "Le Grand Rendez-vous".

Elkabbach is no stranger to many French, having held several high profile posts for television and radio, including president of France Télévisions (December 1993 - June 1996), president of the parliamentary TV channel Public Sénat (December 1999 - April 2009) and directeur général (April 2005) and later president (until June 2008) of the radio station for which he still works, Europe 1.

"Le Grand Rendez-vous" is a sort of "joint venture" if you like, between Europe 1, the popular national daily Aujourd'hui en France, the all-news channel i>Télé and TV5 Monde.

A fellow journalist from each of the three partners sits alongside Elkabbach, but there's no doubting who's in charge.

The programme lasts just one hour, during which the guest - usually a politician (but not always) - goes head-to-head (or should that be the other wary round?) with Elkabbach on the most pressing matters of the day or the past week.

The list of recent guests includes, politicians Michel Sapin, François Fillon and Pierre Moscovici, trade unionist leader Laurent Berger, former CEO of EADS Louis Gallois and Cardinal André Vingt-Trois.

As the whole thing is filmed and available live on the Net, most guests - especially the politicians, keen to preen and aware of the importance of image - have taken to inviting along people of their choice to sit in the audience.

Space is limited by the size of the studio of course, but some politicians cannot resist a show of strength.

Such was the case recently with Jean-François Copé, the president of the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP).

Jean-François Copé (screenshot from Europe 1's "Le Grand Rendez-vous")

You might remember, he was "elected" to that position after the party's internal voting shenanigans last year and the ensuing stalemate with former prime minister François Fillon.

Events have moved on since then. The two men have buried the proverbial hatchet - although it's not sure where - the party split has been "healed" and there are vice-presidents galore from both camps.

And that "bonhomie" among party members was something the ever media-savvy Copé was eager to stress during his one hour with Elkabbach.

Except the seasoned journalist wasn't letting Copé off the hook so easily and at one point, after listening to "unity...yadda, yadda, yadda", "cooperation...yadda, yadda, yadda" and "agreement...yadda, yadda, yadda" for more than long enough, Elkabbach challenged his guest.

He pointed out that all 22 of the party members Copé had invited to sit in the audience while being interviewed, were from his "clan": they had all supported him before, during and after the leadership voting debacle.

Rattling of a list of names of those present, Elkabbach asked, "But where are the (so-called) Fillonists? There's not a single one here," he said, finger raised.

http://www.canalplus.fr/c-infos-documentaires/pid3847-c-la-nouvelle-edition.html

"There's no sign of (Valérie) Pécresse, (Éric) Ciotti not even - excuse me for saying this - François Baroin....how come?" continued Elkabbach.

"What a silence," he exclaimed as Copé took more than a moment to summon his response.

It was a classic...a moment when a usually smug Copé floundered, discovering that he had been well and truly outmanoeuvred

Take a look - at the accompanying video from five minutes and 12 seconds as Copé quite rightly gets his come-uppance.

La Nouvelle Edition du 03/05 - Partie 3

Amandine Bourgeois to sing French Eurovision Song Contest entry

Proving there really is life after television talent shows, Amandine Bourgeois has been chosen to represent France at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmö in May.

Bourgeois won the sixth edition of Nouvelle Star - France's version of Pop Idol - in 2008.

The show, which was cancelled by M6 a couple of years ago, is currently undergoing something of a renaissance on D8.

And that's perhaps what Bourgeois is hoping for by taking part in the annnual Europe-wide musical jamboree, because since winning Nouvelle Star, her career has hardly been...well er...decidedly rocky (although not in the musical sense of the word).

It all started off reasonably enough, with her debut album "20 m2" in 2009 being pretty well received by music critics and the public alike.

It reached a high of number five in the French charts and went gold. The first track released as a single, "L'homme de la situation" was a catchy little number which received plenty of airplay and reasonable chart success.

Amandine Bourgeois (screenshot from "L'homme de la situation" official clip)

There were two follow-up singles both taken from the album - "Tant de moi" and "Du temps" - which helped keep Bourgeois in the public eye, her album in the charts and bolster tickets sales for her tour of generally small to medium-sized venues around the country.

Bourgeois' second album in 2012 "Sans amour Mon amour" apparently "inspired by the retro 60's R&B of Amy Winehouse" and the two singles "Sans amour and "Envie d'un manque de problèmes", although well-written and produced, pretty much failed to register on the all-important commercial rader.

The result? Well Bourgeois was forced to cancel her tour after selling only 4,000 copies of the album and admitting how upset she was.

"I'm very sad and sorry, but it's really difficult to fill venues when my album simply isn't selling well and the songs aren't played on the radio," she said on her Facebook page, making a promise that she would "work and pray hard to continue living her passion".

And the way apparently to "live her passion" is to represent France in Malmö!

Amandine Bourgeois (screenshot from "L'homme de la situation" YouTube clip)

A France Télévisions committee designated Bourgeois as this country's representative - yes that's the way things are done in France: no leaving it up to the public to decide.

And the song chosen for the 33-year-old to sing in front of millions will be  "L'enfer et moi"

Here's wishing Bourgeois all the best in Malmö.

She'll certainly need it if the recent past form of French participants is anything to go by.

Last year Indonesian-born singer Anggun only managed to finish 22nd out of 26 in the final and the previous year, the man with the big voice and dodgy "hairdon't" Amaury Vassili, only managed a self-described 15th placed "shitty finish".


In fact you have to go all the way back to the hey days of the competition for France's last win.

As the French media keeps reminding everyone each time Eurovision comes around, the last "triumph" for the country was in 1977 when Marie Myriam captured the hearts (and ears) of those watching with "L'oiseau et l'enfant".

"It's an honour for me to represent France," Bourgeois says on her Facebook page.

"I'm a little frightened but I also have the ability to transform that into a something positive," she told the weekly television programming magazine Télé 7 Jours.

"Whatever happens, Eurovision should open doors for me and boost my career."

There's no video of "L'enfer et moi" available yet, but here's a reminder of how she sounded back in her Nouvelle Star-winning days.

Paralympic Games - France Télévisions response (so far) to lack of coverage

France's public broadcaster has given its first response to an online petition criticising it for failing to schedule live coverage on any of its five channels to the upcoming Paralympic Games in London.

Below is a copy of the email (in French of course) the organiser of the petition,  Benoit Coulon, sent to all those who have so far signed.

It demonstrates a move in the right direction with extra programming now planned daily on France 2, but there's still scope for more.

So if you feel strongly about the Paralympic Games deserving more - live - coverage, simply click on the links provided in the email and add your name.

Here's a little more background to the story from a post which appeared here earlier this week.

"En moins d'une semaine, vous êtes plus de 15 000 à avoir signé ma pétition pour demander à France Télévisions de donner aux Jeux paralympiques la place qu'ils méritent. Merci pour votre soutien.

Nous avons fait bouger les lignes : France Télévisions vient de m'appeler pour m'annoncer qu'ils revoyaient leur grille des programmes suite à ma pétition! Une émission supplémentaire de 40 minutes sera diffusée tous les jours à 17h et le samedi à 15h sur France 2. Ce programme sera un magazine “relatant la grande aventure sportive et humaine que constituent ces Jeux“.  

Votre soutien a été crucial. Notre mobilisation a fait le buzz sur internet et dans la presse et a alimenté le débat national sur le sujet. France Télévisions a été contraint de réagir directement à ma pétition et de revoir sa programmation.  

La réponse de France Télévisions montre que notre appel a été entendu. C'est très encourageant. C'est un premier pas pour cette année, mais il faut que France Télévisions s'engage davantage pour les athlètes handisport. Avec un dispositif tel que celui-ci, il est difficile de découvrir de nouvelles disciplines, et de vibrer avec les athlètes. Je reste donc mobilisé pour que France Télévisions fasse vraiment plus pour les prochains Jeux, car la place donnée aux Paralympiques sur France Télévisions souffre encore du décalage avec la surexposition médiatique des Jeux Olympiques sur les chaînes publiques.  

Je suis particulièrement fier d'avoir lancé cette pétition. Mais le combat n'est pas fini pour donner aux athlètes handisports la place qu'ils méritent, sur les stades et sur les ondes. Merci encore de m'avoir suivi dans ce combat.  

Vous aussi, vous pouvez agir pour faire changer les choses, sur n'importe quel sujet qui vous tient à coeur. Cliquez ici pour lancer votre propre pétition en quelques minutes!

Merci pour votre action.  

Benoit Coulon  

PS: Cliquez ici pour lire le communiqué de France Télévisions publié une semaine après avoir reçu ma pétition. Cliquez ici pour lire un article sur notre première victoire."

Paralympic games and the true Olympic spirit - according to France Télevisions

So after 17 days of almost continuous live coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, it's back to normal service as far as the country's public national television broadcaster France Télévisions is concerned.

Its channels, France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5 and France Ô will be serving up more or less the same sort of summer fare you would expect from them if you're a regular viewer.

Until the Paralympic Games begin on August 29, designed to "Inspire a generation" in much the same was (if not more) as the Olympics Games which closed on Sunday.

So France Télévisions is once again clearing its schedules to bring viewers live coverage of what's happening - right?

Wrong.

Television executives in their infinite wisdom have decided that very few people in this country actually give a damn and have confined the Paralympics to a less than secondary role.

Tune into the national channel France 2 from August 29 and you'll see...well absolutely no special programming.

Over on the regional channel France 3, there'll be coverage - recorded highlights lasting for around 90 minutes every day.

The opening and closing ceremonies? Well you'll be able to see them live...on France Ô - if you can find it - the channel that features programming from the French overseas départéments and collectivities.

Outrage from the government with the minister of sport, Valérie Fourneyron, and the junior minister for the disabled Marie-Arlette Carlotti, issuing statements telling France Télevisions exactly what they think?

Nope.

Nothing as yet.

Of course it's not the place of public television to inform, enlighten and provide a platform for all sectors of society.

And as one comment (very much in the minority it should be said) left on radio journalist Jean-Marc Morandini's  blog so eloquently put it, "Nobody has anything against the disabled but let's stop all this hypocrisy; the sporting performances of the handicapped simply don't interest anyone."

That's all right then.

Sod the Paralympics!

That's certainly seems to be what France Télévisions' sports schedules are telling us.

Or perhaps the broadcaster felt it had done more than its fair share in granting the South African athlete Oscar Pistorius an interview during its live coverage of the past 17 days.

Just for the record and if anyone is interested, a local private broadcaster TV8 Mont-Blanc will apparently be showing a far portion of the Paralympics - live.

Seasonal cock-ups from French TV news

It's the time of year when TV executives seem to have been more than a little unimaginative about how to fill programming schedules.

At least here in France it seems to be turkey-stuffed to bursting point with shows featuring the very best and worst of the year's bloopers, "humorous" outtakes, video gags et cetera - you get the picture surely.

All terribly original of course, and cheap to put together.

Sometimes though live telly provides its own unintentional moments of mirth and merriment - even the more serious side of news reporting.

And such has been the case recently with both of the country's major national channels treating viewers to a split second "did that I really see that?" double take during their prime time news broadcasts.

Oh yes a word on those perhaps as both privately-owned TF1 and public-run France 2 broadcast their two daily news programmes at the same times every day; one o'clock in the afternoon and eight o'clock in the evening.

It's practical really as the running order often differs and if you've only caught the tail end of one particular report, you can simply flick the remote to catch it hopefully on the other channel.

Then there's the editorial line of course. TF1 for example, is often accused of being more pro-government (or perhaps that should read more sympathetic to the president Nicolas Sarkozy) as its major shareholder is the French industrial group Bouygues, whose chairman of the board and CEO is Martin Bouygues.

He's a long-time friend of the French president, was a witness at his second marriage (to Cécilia) and is Godfather to Sarkozy's youngest son Louis. Draw your own conclusions

France 2 is supposedly more objective, but Sarkozy changed the law to allow himself to choose the CEO of the media group to which France 2 belongs, France Télévisions, and in August this year appointed Rémy Pflimlin to take over the job from Patrick de Carolis.

He (Sarkozy) obviously had his reasons.

Anyway back to those bloopers.

First up was TF1, running one of many reports on queues and delays at airports after snow brought yet another dollop of pre-Christmas blues to many.

During one presumable hastily cut segment for the December 18 weekend edition a couple were interviewed as they waited along with their children for their niece to arrive from the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

As the husband explained that her 'plane was due to land one-and-a-half hours late, a woman in the background can clearly be seen effortlessly pulling her red suitcase behind her.

The woman with the red suitcase (screenshot from TF1 news)

Except she's walking backwards!

Oops.

Arrêt sur images - La femme qui marche à l'envers sur TF1 Vidéo leblogtvnews sélectionnée dans TV/Séries

Not to be outdone it seems, France 2 decided to do a bit of its own travelling - in terms of time - at the beginning of its broadcast on Tuesday evening (December 28) this week.

It opened with the graphics telling viewers that what they were watching was not the daily edition of the programme but the weekend one.

Gremlins in the works of course.

Or maybe someone had imbibed a little too much holiday spirit.

Happy New Year - and thanks French TV news.