Last Sunday, Belgian newspaper La Meuse claimed that Patricia Kaas would be the French artist chosen to represent the country at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow this May. No official statement has yet been made by France Television, but news was circulated that the information had been denied by Patricia Kaas' management.

Patricia Kaas’ marketing manager, Tanguy Dairaine, declared: "No, she won’t do it for two main reasons. First of all, on that very special day, Patricia never sings. May 16th is the date when her mother passed away, back in 1989. And this will be the 20th anniversary of that sad moment. She does the same with her father’s death, every June 7th. Secondly, we are not sure that such an experience would be good for her."

Tonight, esctoday.com has received confirmation that Tanguy Dairaine’s declarations were made several weeks ago, when early rumours started to be heard among the Patricia Kaas’ fans that she could be a possible Eurovision Song Contest entry for France. At that point, it is quite possible that no contact between Patricia Kaas' management and France Television regarding possible participation had been made.

No denial or additional comments have in fact been made by her management since the news published by La Meuse and esctoday.com last week. Patricia Kaas is due to appear on tomorrow's Europe 1 radio show at 09:00 CETin France, although it is unlikely that any statement will be mentioned about the Eurovision Song Contest.

esctoday.com has been told that as many artists have been contacted by France Televisions, they are not ready to make any official announcement about the next representative of France. A statement in the near future from Patricia Kaas' management is expected.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for all the latest information about France and their 2009 Eurovision Song Contest entry.

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