Country France Selected entrant Marie Line Final result 24th, 3 points | Selection process Internal Selection Selected song "Où aller" 1998 • 1999► | |
France was represented by Marie Line, with the self-penned song '"Où aller", at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 9 May in Birmingham. The song was chosen internally by broadcaster France 2.
On the night of the final Marie Line performed third in the running order, following Greece and preceding Spain. The uptempo "Où aller" was one of the evening's more contemporary songs, with urban-influenced rhythms and style at a time when this type of song was only just starting to make its appearance at Eurovision. "Où aller" was almost completely overlooked in the voting, having by the close picked up only 3 points (from the somewhat unlikely sources of Cyprus and Macedonia), placing France 24th of the 25 entries, ahead only of the nul-points Swiss entry. "Où aller" has a positive reputation and is often cited as among the more inexplicable and undeserved total voting failures in Eurovision. Explanations range from the surmise that the song was disadvantaged by being drawn to be performed very early in the show to the suggestion that in Eurovision terms it was simply ahead of its time and would have registered a less disastrous result in a later contest. The 12 points from the French televote were awarded to contest winners Israel.