Is the French language having a resurgence at Eurovision 2025?

While it has been widely noted that languages other than English have made a resurgence at the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years, one language has made a particular splash in this year's lineup of songs.

Out of the 18 languages represented at Eurovision 2025, as at the time of writing, there are no less than six songs in this year's contest with at least one line in French - including that of the host nation of Switzerland!

The tally includes three songs fully in French (being the songs from France, Luxembourg and Switzerland), two more partly in French (Netherlands and Israel) and even Australia getting in on the game with a line in la langue de Molière.

And while French is still quite a way behind English in the list of most represented languages at this year's contest (with a whopping 19 songs having at least one line in English), French is a clear second place, with Italian being the only other language represented in more than one song this year.

So, what is driving the increase in French language representation at Eurovision? In this article, we consider three reasons why this could be the case.

1. The Francophone Bloc

The most obvious explanation for the resurgence of French at the Contest is that there are a relatively large number of competing countries where French is an official or national language, including France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Historically, the national language rule, which required participating countries to sing in one of their official languages at Eurovision, guaranteed a minimum level of French representation at Eurovision. Between 1956 and 1993, there were always at least 2 songs per year in French, with all but two years having a minimum of 3 French-language songs.

During this period, there were also no less than 14 winning songs in French, including beloved hits such as France Gall's Poupée de cire, poupée de son and Céline Dion's Ne partez pas sans moi.

When one looks at the list of countries which were singing in French during this period, though, it is the same names which pop up from year to year.

As well as France, Belgium historically alternated between French-language and Dutch-language entries depending on which broadcaster was arranging the Belgian participation that year, while Switzerland and Luxembourg were also regular French-users. Although no longer participating, almost all of the Mediterranean microstate of Monaco's entries were also in French.

With the abolition of the national language rule in the late 1990s, the number of songs in French rapidly dropped, with France often being the only country to since in the language in the contests of the early 21st century.

However, since 2016, an increasing number of countries have begun to voluntarily send songs in their national languages. Switzerland has sent 3 songs in French during the 2020s so far (in 2020, 2021 and 2025), while Luxembourg has sent a song either partly or wholly in French both years since their return to the Contest in 2024.

Although Belgium is yet to send a song in French, their two most recent national finals have included one or more songs in French (including fan favourites such as Chérine's Ça m'ennuie pas, Le Manou's Fille à Papa and Mentissa's Désolée. What is particularly striking, however, is that both of these national finals have been organised by the Dutch broadcaster in Belgium (VRT) and not by the French broadcaster (RTBF), which has resolutely stuck to English-language music at Eurovision.

In short, however, a key driver of the resurgence of French at Eurovision is the return of francophone countries to using their national language at the Contest. Notably, the three songs wholly in French at Eurovision 2025 come from France, Switzerland and Luxembourg respectively.

2. Diaspora Communities

A second, and often understated, reason for the increase in French-language music in the Eurovision sphere has been the emergence of a younger generation of first and second-generation musicians across Europe with roots and family ties to French-speaking countries in Africa.

The clearest example of this to date is the Dutch entry at Eurovision 2025, Claude, whose song C'est la vie mixes French with English and who has also released a significant amount of music combining French and Dutch. Claude was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but relocated to the Netherlands as a 9-year-old after his mother fled their home country.

Also of Congolese descent, but narrowly missing out on a place at Eurovision 2025, was Belgian artist Mentissa, who has had a number of hit singles in France including Et Bam and Mamma Mia and whose Eurosong entry Désolée was a fan favourite. Mentissa is a second-generation Belgian whose mother moved to the Benelux country from the DRC.

Looking back a little further, the Swedish artist for 2021, Tusse, was also born in Kinshasa and relocated as a refugee to Sweden at a young age. Although Tusse's song at Eurovision, Voices, was presented solely in English at the Contest itself, he also released a version of the song in English and French to coincide with the contest in Rotterdam.

This is also reflective of trends in French-language pop music more broadly. Several of the most well-known artists in the francophone music scene have ties to different African countries, including Aya Nakamura (born in Mali), GIMS (born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Stromae (who was born in Belgium to a Rwandan father and a Flemish mother).

With over half of all French-speakers in the world located across Africa, it is unsurprising that the emergence of African diaspora populations in Europe would lead to the emergence of bilingual musicians who release music in French in addition to their native or home languages. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in future years.

3. An international language?

An interesting feature of the representation of French at Eurovision is the number of countries which do not speak French as a native language but have nonetheless presented an entry in French.

Putting aside the five francophone nations of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco, the list of countries to have submitted an entry wholly or partly in French includes Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Norway and Romania (as well as a wider number of entries with one or two lines in French, such as Australia's Milkshake Man this year).

This speaks to a tradition of French as an international language of trade and diplomacy which, while not as prominent as it was in the early-to-mid 20th century, remains important today.

The legacy of French as an international language across Europe can be seen in the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest itself - there is a reason why the two official languages of the Contest are English and French.

Notably, during France's recent hosting of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the decision was taken to present the majority of the show in French, with the hosts translating to English as necessary (rather than the inverse, which has become standard at the main contest).

For countries which want to present a song in a language other than English that can be understood by a relatively wide number of people across Europe, French remains an obvious choice. It will be interesting to see if other widely-understood languages in Europe such as German have a similar resurgence at Eurovision in future years.

Conclusions

The resurgence of French at Eurovision is reflective of a broader shift towards languages other than English at the Contest, but is not solely a product of French-speaking countries returning to sending songs in their native language(s).

Indeed, one has to look to the emergence of diaspora artists from diverse backgrounds as well as the continuing importance of French as a European language to fully explain the emergence of so many entries in the language this year.

If Go-Jo's one line of French is included, this makes 2025 the year with the most songs at least partially in French since the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, where there were 7 songs in French (largely because each country submitted two entries each in 1956, with France, Belgium and Luxembourg each submitting two songs in French).

Even if we put Australia to one side, however, we have to go back to 1978 to find the last year where 5 songs in French competed.

Can a French-language song take out the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time since 1988? The jury's still out... but maybe one year soon!

For continued updates on all Eurovision Song Contest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet