France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961

France was represented by Jean-Paul Mauric, with the song "Printemps, avril carillonne", at the Eurovision Song Contest 1961, which took place on 18 March in Cannes following Jacqueline Boyer's victory for France the previous year. For 1961, broadcaster RTF opted to hold a national final, which took place on 18 February at 21:20 CET (20:20 UTC).

National final
The final was hosted by Jacqueline Joubert and directed by Marcel Cravenne. Six songs took part. The artists were accompanied by the orchestra of Camille Sauvage. The winner was chosen by votes from members of the public who were telephoned by RTF's regional studios. Each of the 11 regional juries consisted of 50 viewers, with the exception of Paris where 100 viewers were telephoned.

At Eurovision
On the night of the final Mauric performed 9th in the running order, following Germany and preceding Switzerland. At the close of the voting "Printemps, avril carillonne" had received 13 points, placing France 4th of the 16 competing entries.

Voting
Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.