Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) held the national final on 6 March 1973 at the Buttes-Chaumont TV studios in Paris. Six songs took part with the winner chosen by three juries made up of "experts", press and members of the public. Anne-Marie Godart had represented Monaco in 1972.[1]
On the night of the final Clemenceau performed 16th in the running order, following the United Kingdom and preceding Israel. At the close of voting "Sans toi" had received 65 points, placing France joint 15th (with Yugoslavia) of the 17 entries – the only time that France finished outside the top 10 during the 1970s.[2][3] Finished tied second-last was the nearest to last result for France from 1956 to 1997.