France 3 notified Anne Marie David yesterday, that she would not be the lucky one to fly the French flag at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest. 

The singer, who reached international stardom back in the 1970’s thanks to her Eurovision victory representing Luxembourg with the all-time classic Tu te reconnaîtras in 1973, had submitted  an entry in to the French committee in charge of the selection for Malmö.

In a recent interview to French newspaper La Provence, the singer explained why she decided to do so. While working on a new maxi single, Anne Marie David was missing two more tracks when she received a song by Jean Musy and Pierre-André Dousset. A song she said she had always dreamed about, the kind of song with a strong text, a deep melody and vocally demanding.

Whereas she has always stated  that the Eurovision Song Contest should be a place for newcomers to try their luck, Anne Marie David truly believed in her chances to become the 2013 French entrant not because she wanted to go to Eurovision as other established singers but because she reckoned she had the right song. Titled Je manque de toi, her entry was a typical and dramatic chanson which respected a French specificity: lyrics, music, performer… and nothing more. The singer believed France should stop imitating other countries that are better in creating gimmicks and stunning stage performances and go back to basics.

Since her Eurovision win, Anne Marie David has been promoting French chanson with passion all over the world, entering the contest once more in Jerusalem for France with Je suis l’enfant soleil in 1979. Taking part in the contest this year would have marked the 40^th anniversary of Tu te reconnaîtras and would have represented quite an exciting challenge for such an established singer. But it will not happen in the end. Out of the many entries submitted, the French selection committee, made of representatives of the music industry and France Télévisions, met last night to shortlist 15 potential candidates  for Malmö and Anne Marie David is not part of them.