France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "À chaque pas" written by Ben "Jammin" Robbins, Steve Balsamo and Jonatan Cerrada. The song was performed by Jonatan Cerrada. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. Jonatan Cerrada was officially announced by France 3 as the French entrant on 9 February 2004 and later "Laissez-moi le temps" was announced as the French entry on 11 February 2004. On 22 February 2004, France 3 announced that Cerrada would perform a new song at the Eurovision Song Contest and "À chaque pas" was presented to the public as the new contest entry during a live performance by Cerrada on 22 March 2004 during the France 3 programme Symphonic Show.
Jonatan Cerrada during a rehearsal before the final
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the 2003 contest with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), the contest was held at the Abdi İpekçi Arena, and, for the first time, consisted of a semi-final on 12 May, and a final on 15 May 2004. The two live shows were presented by Turkish actors Korhan Abay and Meltem Cumbul. It was the first time that Turkey had hosted the contest, 29 years after the country made its debut, and was also the first time since the 1998 contest in Birmingham that it was not hosted in the host country's capital city.
Abdi İpekçi Arena, Istanbul – host venue of the 2004 contest.
The stage design of the contest
Cover art of the official album