Editing Jean-Claude Pascal (section)

==Career==
After surviving [[World War II]] in [[Strasbourg]], Pascal studied at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] before turning to fashion-designing for [[Christian Dior]]. While working on costumes for the theater production of the play ''Don Juan,'' he was exposed to acting. His first acting role was in the film ''Le jugement de Dieu'' (1949, released in 1952) and afterwards in "Le rideau cramoisi", 1951, opposite [[Anouk Aimée]], followed by several films including  ''Die schöne Lügnerin'' (''La Belle et l'empereur'' 1959, 'Beautiful Liar') with [[Romy Schneider]], and ''[[Angelique and the Sultan]]'' (''Angélique et le sultan'', 1968) with [[Michèle Mercier]].

Pascal won the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1961|1961]] [[Eurovision Song Contest]] for [[Luxembourg]] with the song "[[Nous les amoureux]]" ('We the lovers'), with music composed by [[Jacques Datin]] and lyrics by [[Maurice Vidalin]]. The song tells the story of a thwarted love between the singer and his lover ("they would like to separate us, they would like to hinder us / from being happy"). The lyrics go on about how the relationship is rejected by others but will finally be possible ("but the time will come. [...] and I will be able to love you without anybody in town talking about it. [...] [God] gave us the right to happiness and joy."). Later, Pascal explained that the song was about a homosexual relationship and the difficulties it faced. As this topic would have been considered controversial in the early 1960s, the lyrics are ambiguous and do not refer to the lovers' [[gender]]. This allowed hiding the song's actual message, which was not understood in this way by the general public at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=" Nous les amoureux " de Jean-Claude Pascal, une chanson qui annonce la révolution du mouvement gay...|url=https://www.rtbf.be/lapremiere/article/detail_nous-les-amoureux-de-jean-claude-pascal-une-chanson-qui-annonce-la-revolution-du-mouvement-gay?id=10221083|date=16 May 2019|website=La Première|language=fr|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref> Pascal was himself gay, although he never came out during his life.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rtbf.be/lapremiere/emissions/detail_entrez-sans-frapper/accueil/article_nous-les-amoureux-de-jean-claude-pascal-une-chanson-qui-annonce-la-revolution-du-mouvement-gay?id=10221083&programId=8521 |title="Nous les amoureux" de Jean-Claude Pascal, une chanson qui annonce la révolution du mouvement gay... |work=[[RTBF]] |date=16 May 2019 |first=Sébastien |last=Minsitru |access-date=23 December 2021|language=fr}}</ref>

He later represented Luxembourg again in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1981|1981 contest]] and finished 11th of 20 with the song "[[C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique]]" ('It may not be America'), with words and music he composed together with [[Sophie Makhno]] and [[Jean-Claude Petit]]. Pascal died in [[Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine]] in 1992, aged 64, of stomach cancer.