France was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 with two songs: "", composed by André Lodge, with lyrics by Rachèle Thoreau, and performed by Mathé Altéry; and "", written by Simone Vallauris, and performed by Dany Dauberson. The French participating broadcaster, (RTF), selected its two entries through the radio program . "" was the first-ever entry from France performed in the Eurovision Song Contest.
According to TV listings magazine , (RTF) used the radio program to choose its two entries for the Eurovision Song Contest 1956. In March 1956, RTF asked interested songwriters to submit songs for the program if they wanted to be selected for Eurovision. aired regularly on Saturday evenings on Programme parisien in 1956 and 1957. Its third season started on 7 April 1956, with finals held on 7 July 1956. RTF stated that also winning songs of the previous seasons would compete to be selected as French entries. The program was directed by Michel du Plessis and presented by Maurice Yvain and Louis Poterat, with an orchestra led by Franck Pourcel accompanying the artists.
Of the two French songs chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest, "" can be retrieved in radio listings as participating in the program, in this case for the program aired on 5 May 1956, and sung by Marina Audrey.
"", written by André Lodge (music) and (lyrics), and "", written by Simone Vallauris, were chosen as the French entries. It is unknown how Mathé Altéry and Dany Dauberson were ultimately selected as the participants, or how the song "" was chosen, as the song wasn't listed in the shows in the third season before 16 May, earliest report of the Eurovision participants.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 took place at the in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. "", sung by Mathé Altéry, was performed 5th at the contest and "", sung by Dany Dauberson, was performed 12th. Both of the French entries were conducted by Franck Pourcel.
Each participating broadcaster appointed two jury members who voted by giving between one and ten points to each song, including those representing their own country. One of the French jury members was Maurice Yvain.
The full results of the contest were not revealed and have not been retained by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was televised in France on RTF with commentary by Michelle Rebel, and also broadcast live on radio Paris-Inter.