France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981
France was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, Ireland.
Before Eurovision
''Concours de la Chanson Française pour l'Eurovision 1981''
The final was held on 8 March 1981 at the TF1 Studios in Paris, and was hosted by television hostess Fabienne Égal. Six songs made it to the national final after two semi-final heats. The winner was decided by a random sampling of 1,086 television viewers who were contacted by TF1 and asked which song was their favorite.The winning entry was "Humanahum," performed by Jean Gabilou and composed by Jean-Paul Cara with lyrics by Joe Gracy. Cara and Gracy also penned the 1977 Contest winner "L'oiseau et l'enfant". Gabilou, a Tahitian singer, was the first ever to represent France from one of its overseas territories.
The order of the songs presented on the night of the Contest vary from other published material.
| Draw | Artist | Song ' | Points | Place |
| 1 | Amour | "Un homme s'était levé" ' | 116 | 6 |
| 2 | Evelyne Geller | "Les yeux fermés" ' | 165 | 3 |
| 3 | Jean Gabilou | "Humanahum" | 273 | 1 |
| 4 | Frida Boccara | "Voilà comment je t'aime" ' | 159 | 4 |
| 5 | Jeff Barnel | "De visage en visage" ' | 131 | 5 |
| 6 | Jorge Rafael | "C'est un oiseau de papier" ' | 242 | 2 |