The French participating broadcaster, France Télévisions, selected its performer for the contest through the competition Et si c'était vous?
On 17 March 2006, France Télévisions announced that Pouchain would perform a new song at the Eurovision Song Contest and "Il était temps" was presented to the public as the new entry during a live performance by Pouchain on 10 April 2006 during the France 3 programme Questions pour un champion.
France has also finished second four times, with Paule Desjardins in 1957, Catherine Ferry in 1976, Joëlle Ursull in 1990, and Amina in 1991 (who lost out to Sweden's Carola in a tie-break).
The final took place on 14 March 2006 at the La Plaine St-Denis television studios in Paris, hosted by Michel Drucker and Claudy Siar.
[8] The winner of each audition was determined by the combination of the online vote (50%) and a jury panel headed by vocal coach Malika Bellari (50%) and announced between 9 and 14 February 2006.
[6][9] The four candidates selected by RFO for the national final were determined through the musical programme 9 Semaines et 1 Jour which featured 93 artists from French overseas territories.
by Village People, "Rasputin" by Boney M., "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward and "Lady Marmalade" by Patti LaBelle, and the top three contestants as determined by the combination of public voting (50%) and the four-member jury (50%) advanced to the final round.
[4] In the final round, each of the remaining three contestants performed a cover version of a French language song and the winner, Virginie Pouchain, was determined by the public and jury vote.
[3] Following Virginie Pouchain's win at the French national final, the singer stated that she would be performing a song other than "Vous, c'est nous" at the Eurovision Song Contest following consultation with composer Corneille Nyungura as the entry, originally written to be performed by a male vocalist, did not suit her style.
[13] After being given an extended deadline by the EBU, the replacement entry "Il était temps" was formally presented to the public on 10 April 2006 during the France 3 programme Questions pour un champion, hosted by Julien Lepers.
[14] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2005 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final.
[15] Virginie Pouchain performed the song on stage together with cellist Matheson Bayley and France placed twenty-second in the final, scoring 5 points.