France 2025: Louane with 'Maman'

We have the full lineup for 2025 with France showcasing their Eurovision entry ‘Maman’ last night.

In terms of odds expectations, French TV going balls to the wall on this, and being the final entry, I don't remember a song being as hyped up as this before. Big name entrants such as those in Russia's hey day have been released in the typical manner whilst past dominant winners and Eurovision legends Alexander Ryback, Loreen and of course Måns Zelmerlow have all seen their entries dropped as one of a batch (naturally of course, not having been internal choices but still).

The audacity of France to attempt to blast Louane to pieces whilst suspended in the middle of the air in a packed Stade De France is next level and something that truly has to be seen. It was only 15 months ago Olly Alexander being announced on Strictly Come Dancing was seen as a 'statement'. To add to the madness, Louanne has also apparently scrubbed from some of the records one of her bigger hits just to avoid altering the title to this. That is commitment.

I think it's fair to say all of this kind of overshadowed the actual song however and the initial reaction was - inevitably - one of mild disappointment. Since this was given the buildup of a 700 pt entry, that was always likely.

Now slight spoiler, I think I too didn't feel this as much immediately as I should have even if I was covering up in the 20s having been reluctant to get involved in single figures. 5th-8th was the initial guess, but realistically, I think we can push that 3 spots higher. My question over France this whole saga was where Louanne would fall within the Barbara Pravi - Slimane - La Zarra - Madame Monsieur spectrum: unlikely to be exceptionally higher or a complete bomb.

The answer I think is around a Slimane level and Maman has that similar big ballad style with a strong anthemic chorus. To compare to this year, it's a sledgehammer of a production versus Switzerland's gentle French entry and in my opinion the far, far superior song versus Israel (and a convenient further excuse to ignore that).

Not a masterclass in songwriting by any measure but this does the job. Louane is a great singer but can be too aloof at times and this is a very self absorbing and emotional entry for her. For the circumstances and pressure on her last night, I think she did an exceptional job. Keeping some of that raw emotion doesn't hurt but this shouldn't become a complete shout fest and definitely not a circus which last night was. A less is more approach is better for France again and it's no coincidence their stronger results have come when not throwing too much at it.

I think this is the "safe" jury pick to win on that side of the vote currently, less volatile than Austria, more worthy than Sweden and outgunning The Netherlands, Italy and whoever else is seen as a jury runner. There's also the favouritism angle where I do think France's efforts this year will not be overlooked and they'd be a very desirable outcome. 240-280 looks the range for me with this not innovative or unique enough for more but weak opposition.

The televote is wider and harder to judge, there is a certain base quality to this which should safely see it into a public vote top 10, but getting past 200 is a very tall order, requiring several flops potentially. That’s something I would have also said about Slimane however and he held his own very well against 3 massive tele hitters.

Overall, this is more of an each way pick I think that likely scores 400-450 but one where the win is not entirely to be ruled out before we see everyone on the ground in Basel.

Personal Rating: 16/20

Staging Potential: 16/20

Televote Potential: 16/20

Jury Potential: 19/20

Track Record: 18/20

Total Rating: 85/100

Early Prediction: 3rd-5th.