This was meant to go on! The story of France’s 2018 Eurovision entry, Mercy by Madame Monsieur didn’t leave anyone unmoved. But this was only the beginning… Following their first meeting with Mercy in September, the French couple is now going ahead with a brave humanitarian action, as they decided to raise funds for the young Nigerian girl and her mother.
“Friends, now it’s possible!”
She might be only 16 months old, but she was forced to face huge life difficulties from the first minutes of her life. The baby who was born on a rescue boat during the European migrant crisis, was the inspiration for the French duet consisting of Emilie Satt and her husband Jean-Karl Lucas to write and perform on the Eurovision stage the story of a little heroine; Mercy.
Having now left the welcome center and at the moment of writing, Mercy and her mother Taïwo reside in Sicily, Italy, where the girl is attending a nursery school and Taïwo is attending Italian language classes, attempting to start their lives from the beginning.
An online fundraiser is now open on GoFundMe and everyone may offer their help with any amount of their preference. The couple’s main target is to collect at least 10,000 Euros, which will be shared between Mercy and her mother, as well as the Casa Delle Culture Mediterranean Hope Center, which welcomes 15 mothers with their children and provides a friendly and warm environment for them.
With a cute picture of the little girl, the French 2018 hopefuls announced their intentions on Instagram. Here are their words:
Friends, in recent months, many of you have asked us how it was possible to give little Mercy and her mom a hand in starting their new life. It took a long time because we had to do things well, but today it is possible! So small or big, each contribution will become part of the future they have started to build.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BotujqTl08L/?taken-by=madamemonsieur
Madame Monsieur at Eurovision
Last January saw the introduction of a brand new selection format for France, Destination Eurovision. The event consisted of two semi-final rounds and one Grand Final, which determined the 2018 Eurovision representative of the country.
The duo Madame Monsieur, consisting of vocalist Émilie Satt and producer Jean-Karl Lucas were crowned as the event’s winners on 27 January, with their song Mercy, as they came 1st with the French public and 3rd with the international juries, which had also their own stake at the outcome. Mercy later became a big radio success around Europe.
As part of the “Big 5“, France was automatically qualified for the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, which took place in Lisbon. Although the country had been one of the huge favourites of the competition and came close to a potential 6th victory, it finally ended up 13th with 173 points from both the national juries and televoting.
