France Best Selling Albums Ever

It has been 5 years since ChartMasters.org is online. It started with a large string of articles about the best selling albums of all-time in France, articles which served to created the comprehensive top sellers list.

Several years later, we are back on it to update all numbers and add albums which crossed the magical 1 million threshold.

Introduction

From 175 albums as of the end of 2016, the tally of million sellers increases to 184 by the end of 2020.

The 9 new albums include only 1 album released during the last 4 years. Then, 7 more made it on the back of catalog sales while a last album was added thanks to new evidences of sales.

This article features various statistics and sub-lists as well as links to all original albums breakdowns. Please be aware most of those breakdowns have been posted several years ago, so their totals in said articles differ from this updated list since recent sales are newly added.

For clarification purpose, all figures relate to album sales in LPs, Cassette, CD or Download format but exclude streaming.

They include 2 and 3 boxes containing the related album in full but exclude 4+ boxes as it isn’t clear anymore that the purchaser explicity wanted to buy the said record. Figures aim to reflect net shipment as of the end of 2020.

Let’s go!

Per act type

Band albums

01 Louise Attaque – Louise Attaque (1997) : 2 820 000
02 Queen – Greatest Hits II (1991) : 2 580 000
03 Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms (1985) : 2 050 000
04 ABBA – Gold – Greatest Hits (1992) : 1 865 000
05 Nirvana – Nevermind (1991) : 1 820 000
06 Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) : 1 790 000
07 Manau – Panique Celtique (1998) : 1 785 000
08 Queen – Greatest Hits (1981) : 1 715 000
09 Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979) : 1 565 000
10 The Cranberries – No Need To Argue (1994) : 1 555 000
11 The Beatles – 1967-1970 (1973) : 1 505 000
12 Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975) : 1 465 000
13 Fredericks Goldman Jones – Fredericks Goldman Jones (1990) : 1 440 000
14 Ace Of Base – Happy Nation (1993) : 1 405 000
15 Eagles – Hotel California (1976) : 1 390 000
16 The Beatles – 1962-1966 (1973) : 1 375 000
17 Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits (1972) : 1 340 000
18 Kyo – Le Chemin (2003) : 1 340 000
19 IAM – L’Ecole du Micro d’Argent (1997) : 1 335 000
20 Dire Straits – On Every Street (1991) : 1 335 000

A similar list of top sellers in the UK / US would be massively dominated by albums from bands, it is not the case in France yet.

Only three band albums ever sold over 1.9 million, thus all those albums do not occupy the very top spots of the comprehensive list which merges all albums.

Bands albums are still responsible for 46 albums which sales over 1 million units, which is a great showing.

French bands are also notably absent here with only two albums inside the Top 10 and five spread over the Top 20, which is a good illustration of the lack of massive selling local bands.

The worst thing is that one of these albums – Fredericks Goldman Jones – was mostly a solo album in the eyes of the public while the four other French albums came from acts that can be considered one-album wonders.

All those facts together just give even more credit to Louise Attaque eponymous debut album which destroys the competition.

It is both the highest selling debut album ever, the highest selling band album ever and the highest selling rock album ever. Well, not bad.

Foreign albums-wise, Dire Straits are #3 and #20, plus #32 with Money For Nothing, managing three million selling albums within’ a few years. They are not the only superstar international group in France though.

Indeed, Pink Floyd nearly put three albums inside the Top 10 as they sit at #6, #9 and #12.

The Beatles also dropped three million sellers, all compilations, with 1967-1970 #11, 1962-1966 #16 and lower down the chart 1 at #39.

Finally, Simon & Garfunkel registered similar results with two compilations and one live album ranking at #17 (Greatest Hits), #26 (The Concert In Central Park) and #42 (The Definitive).

Thanks to the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen skyrocketed in recent years. Greatest Hits II is closing in the top spot while Greatest Hits is at #8, up from #22 by the end of 2016.

The Top 20 suggests U2 are not too big in France, it isn’t true through as they stand at #23 with War, #25 with The Joshua Tree and #31 with Best Of 1980-1990 (#31), each of them selling in excess of 1.2 million.

Close enough too was AC/DC, they rank at #36 with Live, #38 with Back In Black and #45 with 1979 set Highway To Hell. The latter is a new member of the millionaires’ club thanks to its ongoing catalog sales.

Nirvana are up there at an impressive #5 position with Nevermind while Unplugged In New-York (#37) also shifted a million.

An eight foreign band land multiple million sellers as Supertramp is #22 with Breakfast In America and #28 with The Very Best Of.

The only local groups facing those international giants are Fredericks Goldman Jones trio at #13 with their eponymous debut and #35 with Rouge, plus Noir Désir with their two classic albumsDes Visages Et Des Figuresat #30 and666.667 Clubat #43.

In a more negative note, Kyo‘s Le Chemin is the last album from a band to sell a million. The hope is small to break this 17-year drought anytime soon.

Various artists / Concept albums

01 Musical – Notre-Dame De Paris (1998) : 2 840 000
02 Era – Era (1997) : 2 190 000
03 Musical – Starmania (1978) : 2 105 000
04 Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygène (1976) : 2 080 000
05 Soundtrack – Grease (1978) : 2 055 000
06 Soundtrack – Dirty Dancing (1987) : 1 780 000
07 Soundtrack / Éric Serra – Le Grand Bleu (1988) : 1 775 000
08 Soundtrack / Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard (1992) : 1 735 000
09 Soundtrack / Bruno Coulais – Les Choristes (2004) : 1 730 000
10 Soundtrack / James Horner – Titanic (1997) : 1 695 000
11 Soundtrack / Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever (1977) : 1 545 000
12 Musical – Roméo Et Juliette, De La Haine À L’Amour (2000) : 1 500 000
13 Richard Clayderman – Rêveries (1979) : 1 400 000
14 Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinoxe (1978) : 1 355 000
15 Jean-Philippe Audin & Diego Modena – Ocarina (1991) : 1 290 000
16 Musical – Les Dix Commandements (2000) : 1 185 000
17 Musical – Notre-Dame De Paris (Intégrale) (1998) : 1 175 000
18 Soundtrack  – Pulp Fiction (1994) : 1 115 000
19 Soundtrack / Yann Tiersen – Amélie Poulain (2001) : 1 105 000
20 Soundtrack – The Lion King (1994) : 1 085 000

Although there are much less albums featured on this list – 24 million sellers against 46 in the Bands category – more of them are part of the very best sellers.

This is a good representation of soundtracks way of selling, e.g. hit big or miss completely.

Chart runs of these albums reflect this situation too. In fact, most of them are notable for their two to four months runs at the top of charts.

This big splash upon release sent Grease and Saturday Night Fever up to unseen sales at the time, while Notre-Dame De Paris had the good idea to do the same during the peak of the music market in France to achieve monster sales.

Jean-Michel Jarre‘s couple of electronic albums also perform incredibly well on this list.

The love of the French public to musicals is well known. On top of Notre-Dame De Paris which appears twice, the iconic show Starmaniais past 2 million sales while both Roméo et Juliette and Les Dix Commandements record great sales.

Two Star Academy albums moved a million too, Chante Les Années 80 and the initial L’Album, they rank #22 and #23 in this category.

Female albums

01 Céline Dion – D’eux (1995) : 4 265 000
02 Lara Fabian – Pure (1996) : 1 980 000
03 Céline Dion – S’il Suffisait D’Aimer (1998) : 1 905 000
04 Adele – 21 (2011) : 1 890 000
05 Céline Dion – Let’s Talk About Love (1997) : 1 615 000
06 Norah Jones – Come Away With Me (2002) : 1 610 000
07 Mylène Farmer – Les Mots (2001) : 1 570 000
08 Amy Winehouse – Back To Black (2006) : 1 510 000
09 Patricia Kaas – Mademoiselle Chante… (1988) : 1 495 000
10 Mylène Farmer – Ainsi Soit Je… (1988) : 1 475 000
11 Hélène Ségara – Au Nom D’Une Femme (2000) : 1 470 000
12 Mylène Farmer – L’Autre… (1991) : 1 430 000
13 Carla Bruni – Quelqu’un M’A Dit (2002) : 1 410 000
14 Patricia Kaas – Je Te Dis Vous (1993) : 1 345 000
15 Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman (1988) : 1 340 000
16 Mariah Carey – Music Box (1993) : 1 295 000
17 Dido – No Angel (1999) : 1 255 000
18 Zaz – Zaz (2010) : 1 155 000
19 Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento (1999) : 1 150 000
20 Isabelle Boulay – Mieux Qu’Ici-Bas (2000) : 1 125 000

Out of the 29 female albums that made it past 1 million sales, this is a surprise to absolutely no one to see Celine Dion dominating the ranking.

Her album D’Eux turns into ridicule sales of remaining albums with a 2.1 to 1 lead over the runner up album.

The Canadian superstar also features at #3, #5 and #27 with Falling Into You.

If she dominates thanks to the magnitude of her success in mid-90s, Mylène Farmer has nothing to be ashamed of as she owns albums #7, #10, #12, #19 and #28 with Anamorphosée.

Her five albums inside the ranking are a record among female artists.

Her past rival Patricia Kaas has a very good showing too at #9, #14 and #26 with Scène De Vie.

The only purely foreign artist with similar results is Madonna who fails the Top 20 but still has three million sellers in True Blue (#21), The Immaculate Collection (#22) and Ray Of Light (#29).

Special mention to Adele who’s 21is at #4, the album rocketed incredibly high on this list despite awful market conditions. It’s the top selling English-speaking female album.

25is also a million seller now. It closes the female millionaires list at #32.

It isn’t the only 2015 album to sell a million. French youngster Louane is up to 1.07 million with Chambre 12.

The rest of this ranking is mostly fulfilled with one album wonders.

Lara Fabian did so at the best period to be as high as #2 overall while the likes Norah Jones, Amy Winehouse, Dido, Tracy Chapman, Zaz, Carla Bruni or Mariah Carey took French hearts by storm with one of their albums.

Male albums

01 Michael Jackson – Thriller (1982) : 3 825 000
02 Francis Cabrel – Samedi Soir Sur La Terre (1994) : 3 415 000
03 Andrea Bocelli – Romanza (1997) : 2 855 000
04 Patrick Bruel – Entre Deux (2002) : 2 240 000
05 Patrick Bruel – Alors Regarde (1989) : 2 200 000
06 Michael Jackson – Dangerous (1991) : 2 195 000
07 Stromae – Racine Carrée (2013) : 2 190 000
08 Renaud – Boucan D’Enfer (2002) : 2 145 000
09 Johnny Hallyday – Sang Pour Sang (1999) : 2 085 000
10 Florent Pagny – Savoir Aimer (1997) : 2 075 000
11 Jacques Brel – Les Marquises (1977) : 2 040 000
12 Francis Cabrel – Sarbacane (1989) : 1 995 000
13 Bob Marley – Legend (1984) : 1 990 000
14 Garou – Seul (2000) : 1 980 000
15 Francis Cabrel – Hors-Saison (1999) : 1 915 000
16 Manu Chao – Clandestino (1998) : 1 865 000
17 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Singulier (1996) : 1 845 000
18 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Non Homologué (1985) : 1 840 000
19 Michael Jackson – Bad (1987) : 1 830 000
20 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Chansons Pour Les Pieds (2001) : 1 810 000

This ranking is easily the most consistent category with as many as 82 million selling albums despite exclusions of instrumental artists a la Jean-Michel Jarre, Richard Clayderman and Andre Rieu.

If we ignore the unique Legend compilation album of Bob Marley, only three English albums feature inside this Top 20, including the chart topper.

These albums, Thriller (#1), Dangerous (#6) and Bad (#19) have several things in common but especially one – they are all Michael Jackson albums.

His massive dominance among foreign artists is completed by History which is the fourth foreign male studio album at #23 on this list. 

The only other purely foreign artists with more than one million seller is Phil Collins at #53 with …But Seriously and #56 with Serious Hits… Live. Bob Marley joined him too thanks to Uprisingwhich is just over a million.

Not fully local, not fully foreign are both Manu Chao and Julio Iglesias. The former had a mind-blowing era with Clandestino (#16) and sits at #72 with Proxima Estacion Esperanza. The latter has two albums lower on charts, A Vous Les Femmes (#49) and Sentimental (#77).

But the big deal about male artists relates to local singers. Several of them registered insane results.

Jean-Jacques Goldman already had two albums in the Bands list plus one related album in the Various artists list thanks to Génération Goldman covers. He also wrote two of the Top 3 female albums plus various others over a million.

Just like it was not enough, the man also rockets an unreal eight albums past 1 million as a solo artist. He is #17, #18, #20, #24 (Entre Gris Clair Et Gris Foncé), #35 (En Passant), #44 (Positif), #64 (Minoritaire) and #81 (En Public). A good challenge for him could be the release of an instrumental album, just to see if he still pulls a million!

Francis Cabrel is also one of a kind. His Samedi Soir Sur La Terre is runner up to Thrillerwhile his remaining albums are at #12 (Sarbacane), #15 (Hors-Saison), #30 (77-87), #52 (Fragile) and #67 (Les Chemins De Traverse).

Various artists own three million sellers. Patrick Bruel is one of them with two giga sellers (#4 & #5) plus Juste Avant at #29. Florent Pagny is #10, #28 (Bienvenue Chez Moi) and #71 (Ailleurs Land).

Renaud results are similar as he is #8, #33 (Morgane De Toi) and #46 (Mistral Gagnant). So did Yannick Noah despite a dropping market with his #25 debut, Pokhara at #54 and #55 with Charango.

The last owner of a triple crown is Michel Sardou. If all his million sellers barely did it – his albums chart at #66, #73 and #75 – he is also the one with three more albums just under the mark.

As we mentioned most all-time best-selling artists minus the absolute #1, it is time to speak about Johnny Hallyday.

The legendary rocker who passed away in 2017 has two albums high at #9 and #21.

Lower down the rankings he has three more million sellers. It includes a couple of mids-80s classics, Rock ‘N’ Roll Attitude (#50) and Gang (#45), as well as 2018 posthumous release Mon Pays C’est L’Amour.

The only newly released million seller since 2016, it is now over 1.5 million sales.

Obviously, Johnny Hallyday has also countless albums ranging from half a million to a million pure sales.

With two albums a piece are also Alain Souchon, Calogero, Jacques Brel and Michel Berger.

Giving the competition and the current market, Stromaé achieves the unreal position of #7 with his terrific smash Racine Carrée. He is still climbing the list fast.

Per album type

Compilations

01 Queen – Greatest Hits II (1991) : 2 580 000
02 Bob Marley – Legend (1984) : 1 990 000
03 ABBA – Gold – Greatest Hits (1992) : 1 865 000
04 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Singulier (1996) : 1 845 000
05 Elton John – The Very Best Of (1990) : 1 740 000
06 Queen – Greatest Hits (1981) : 1 715 000
07 Mylène Farmer – Les Mots (2001) : 1 570 000
08 Florent Pagny – Bienvenue Chez Moi (1995) : 1 560 000
09 Francis Cabrel – Cabrel 77-87 (1987) : 1 540 000
10 The Beatles – 1967-1970 (1973) : 1 505 000
11 Jacques Brel – 15 Ans D’Amour (1988) : 1 485 000
12 Charles Aznavour – 20 Chansons D’Or (1987) : 1 465 000
13 The Beatles – 1962-1966 (1973) : 1 375 000
14 Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits (1972) : 1 340 000
15 Supertramp – The Very Best Of (1990) : 1 255 000
16 U2 – Best Of 1980-1990 (1998) : 1 235 000
17 Dire Straits – Money For Nothing (1988) : 1 225 000
18 Emile & Images – Jusqu’Au Bout De La Nuit (1999) : 1 225 000
19 Lionel Richie – Back To Front (1992) : 1 185 000
20 The Beatles – One (2000) : 1 100 000

Most of those albums have already been discussed through previous lists. A trio of albums need to be highlighted yet.

Queen classic 1991 set tops the list in part thanks to Platinum Collection sales. The same box sends Greatest Hits I to #6 too. 

Bob Marley perennial seller Legend is runner up, which looks natural as iconic as it is. It may top 2 million sales in 2021.

Jean-Jacques Goldman owns the greatest selling compilation among local acts, again quite naturally giving his dominance on French music scene.

ABBA evergreen compilation Gold album is at #3 and still going strong. Out of the top 10 albums, these three happen to be the only ones not almost completely replaced and as such are hot favorites to extend their lead.

A small notice, even if it is technically a compilation and sold enough to be #1, Andrea Bocelli‘s Romanzahas been excluded.

In fact, the singer broke the French audience with this release which has been exploited and marketed as a studio album.

Live albums

01 Simon & Garfunkel – The Concert In Central Park (1982) : 1 260 000
02 Phil Collins – Serious Hits… Live (1990) : 1 245 000
03 AC/DC – Live (1992) : 1 180 000
04 Nirvana – Unplugged In New-York (1994) : 1 175 000
05 Musical – Notre-Dame De Paris (Intégrale) (1998) : 1 175 000
06 Jean-Jacques Goldman – En Public (1986) : 1 000 000

It takes a lot to sell 1 million copies of a single album in France, let alone of a Live album. In this country, almost every successful album eras are concluded with the release of a related Live set.

Theese albums usually sell from 20% to 50% of the related studio album. During the 90s, many of them from the likes Céline Dion, Mylène Farmer or Patricia Kaas made it past 2xPlatinum, representing 600,000 units, but none ever sold a million.

The lone ‘era ending’ live set that ever sold a million copies used to be the special case of Notre-Dame De Paris. Now, Jean-Jacques Goldman‘s En Public joined it as well.

This is the entire irony of this list as while the immense majority of live sets sold are directly related to an album era, the remaining four million selling lives all ended up so high mostly because during several years they were regarded as some kind of hits package for related artists.

Only Simon & Garfunkel had a best of available but it was already old while the live set was highly hyped.

The AC/DC album remained one of the very best-selling catalog albums of the last 20 years.

Even Goldman effort was his first live album and remained free of compilations challenging it until 1996.

MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana is now far and away the leading catalog seller of this group so it may take over the crown at some point.

Debut albums

01 Louise Attaque – Louise Attaque (1997) : 2 820 000
02 Era – Era (1997) : 2 190 000
03 Garou – Seul (2000) : 1 980 000
04 Manu Chao – Clandestino (1998) : 1 865 000
05 Manau – Panique Celtique (1998) : 1 785 000
06 Christophe Maé – Mon Paradis (2007) : 1 630 000
07 Norah Jones – Come Away With Me (2002) : 1 610 000
08 Patricia Kaas – Mademoiselle Chante… (1988) : 1 495 000
09 Kendji Girac – Kendji(2014) : 1 465 000
10 Fredericks Goldman Jones – Fredericks Goldman Jones (1990) : 1 440 000

One element to notice is how recent all these albums are. Only one debut album released before 1988 ever sold 1 million.

At the time, each artist had to make his hole before benefitting from majors’ promotion machines.

A second key element is how most of these acts were already known before their debut album which highlights even more the difficulty of this feat.

Both Garou and Christophe Maé were musicals superstars, Era was a project from famous composer Eric Lévi, Fredericks Goldman Jones a side project of Jean-Jacques Goldman and Manu Chao was the former leader of Mano Negra band.

These elements point out even better how incredibly impressive the breakthrough of Louise Attaque has been.

This list welcomes a new entry with 2014’s Kendji Girac debut. At 1.47 million, it is the greatest seller since its release to date besides Johnny Hallyday posthumous blockbuster.

Christmas albums

01 Tino Rossi – C’est La Belle Nuit De Noêl (1973) : 1 095 000

Well, this category is rather empty, but just a small congrats to legendary Tino Rossi for achieving the impossible by selling over 1 million units of a Christmas album in France.

The success of this compilation relies on the most famous holiday song in the country, Petit Papa Noel, that the singer recorded way back in 1946.

Soundtrack albums

01 Soundtrack – Grease (1978) : 2 055 000
02 Soundtrack – Dirty Dancing (1987) : 1 780 000
03 Soundtrack / Éric Serra – Le Grand Bleu (1988) : 1 775 000
04 Soundtrack / Whitney Houstn – The Bodyguard (1992) : 1 735 000
05 Soundtrack / Bruno Coulais – Les Choristes (2004) : 1 730 000
06 Soundtrack / James Horner – Titanic (1997) : 1 695 000
07 Soundtrack / Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever (1977) : 1 545 000
08 Soundtrack – Pulp Fiction (1994) : 1 115 000
09 Soundtrack / Yann Tiersen – Amélie Poulain (2001) : 1 105 000
10 Soundtrack – The Lion King (1994) : 1 085 000

While listing soundtracks we meet with two categories.

Firstly, the big storms, the likes Saturday Night Fever, Le Grand Bleu, Bodyguard, Titanic. These albums arrived, destroyed everything and left.

Secondly, there are huge catalog sellers. Mostly two of them, Dirty Dancing and Pulp Fiction, that did wonders in the long run.

Then, there is Grease. This one had both, the massive hype when first released and incredible catalog sales with unmatchable revivals all along the 90s, bringing it to outstanding total sales.

Musical albums

01 Musical – Notre-Dame De Paris (1998) : 2 840 000
02 Musical – Starmania (1978) : 2 105 000
03 Musical – Roméo Et Juliette, De La Haine À L’Amour (2000) : 1 500 000
04 Musical – Les Dix Commandements (2000) : 1 185 000
05 Musical – Notre-Dame De Paris (Intégrale) (1998) : 1 175 000

Starmania started everything. The incredible success of this musical over two decades, with impressive results by the original set as well as related new releases in mid-90s, pushed its author Luc Plamondon to create a new musical, which concluded on Notre-Dame De Paris, an even bigger success.

After noticing this unbelievable smash from 1998, all majors contracted lyricists, composers, and dancers to create their own musicals.

Some were successful, some were not, but both Roméo Et Juliette and Les Dix Commandements smashed hard in 2000.

Per album language

English language studio albums

01 Michael Jackson – Thriller (1982) : 3 825 000
02 Michael Jackson – Dangerous (1991) : 2 195 000
03 Soundtrack – Grease (1978) : 2 055 000
04 Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms (1985) : 2 050 000
05 Adele – 21 (2011) : 1 890 000
06 Michael Jackson – Bad (1987) : 1 830 000
07 Nirvana – Nevermind (1991) : 1 820 000
08 Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) : 1 790 000
09 Soundtrack – Dirty Dancing (1987) : 1 780 000
10 Soundtrack / Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard (1992) : 1 735 000
11 Soundtrack / James Horner – Titanic (1997) : 1 695 000
12 Michael Jackson – HIStory (1995) : 1 690 000
13 Céline Dion – Let’s Talk About Love (1997) : 1 615 000
14 Neil Young – Harvest (1972) : 1 610 000
15 Norah Jones – Come Away With Me (2002) : 1 610 000
16 Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979) : 1 565 000
17 The Cranberries – No Need To Argue (1994) : 1 555 000
18 Soundtrack / Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever (1977) : 1 545 000
19 Amy Winehouse – Back To Black (2006) : 1 510 000
20 Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975) : 1 465 000

This list is mainly oriented towards three axes. The first one is Michael Jackson, by far the major figure of the list at #1, #2, #6 and #12 with four consecutive albums.

The second axis is made of soundtracks that occupy five of the Top 17 spots, including Grease at #3.

The third axis is Pink Floyd with three albums inside the Top 20 including their classic Dark Side Of The Moon at #8.

We can also highlight the fact that many of these albums are tremendous catalog sellers.

11 out of 20 sold 30,000 units or more in the ast 5 years, with Back To Black leading the way at 185,000, followed by Nevermind(155,000), Thriller(80,000) and Dark Side of The Moon (75,000)

Non-English/French language albums

01 Andrea Bocelli – Romanza (1997) : 2 855 000
02 Era – Era (1997) : 2 190 000
03 Manu Chao – Clandestino (1998) : 1 865 000
04 Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion Esperanza (2001) : 1 075 000
05 Laura Pausini – E Ritorno (2001) : 1 010 000

It is tough to reach such a milestone with a foreign language album. Out of the five records which did it, three are projects from French artists by both Era and Manu Chao.

Remaining albums by Andrea Bocelli and Laura Pausini are both Italian albums.

One interesting point is that all those albums got released in a span of four years during the all-time peak of the market, proving how nearly impossible it is to sell 1 million of these releases without highly favorable conditions.

Instrumental albums

01 Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygène (1976) : 2 070 000
02 Soundtrack / Éric Serra – Le Grand Bleu (1988) : 1 760 000
03 Richard Clayderman – Rêveries (1979) : 1 400 000
04 Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinoxe (1978) : 1 350 000
05 Jean-Philippe Audin & Diego Modena – Ocarina (1991) : 1 290 000
06 Soundtrack / Yann Tiersen – Amélie Poulain (2001) : 1 095 000
07 André Rieu – Valses (1997) : 1 080 000

Most instrumental artists are one-off acts, at least on this magnitude of sales.

Andre Rieu often sold well of his albums but came nowhere near his Valses album with his remaining records, same for Richard Clayderman who sold tons of albums during a few years before disappearing.

The only exception is Jean-Michel Jarre who managed two monster sellers plus various others over half a million units, confirming his status of French electronic music godfather.

Statistics

• Total number of million sellers: 184
• Total number of acts with million sellers: 107
• Total number of foreign million sellers: 76
• Total number of two-million sellers: 20
• Multiple million sellers: Jean-Jacques Goldman (8+2), Francis Cabrel (6), Johnny Hallyday, Mylène Farmer (5), Céline Dion, Michael Jackson (4), AC/DC, Dire Straits, Florent Pagny, Madonna, Michel Sardou, Patricia Kaas, Patrick Bruel, Pink Floyd, Renaud, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, U2, Yannick Noah (3), Adele, Alain Souchon, Bob Marley, Calogero, Fredericks Goldman Jones, Jacques Brel, Jean-Michel Jarre, Julio Iglesias, Manu Chao, Michel Berger, Nirvana, Noir Désir, Phil Collins, Queen, Supertramp (2)

Per year

• 1971 – 1
• 1972 – 3
• 1973 – 4
• 1974 – 0
• 1975 – 1
• 1976 – 2
• 1977 – 4
• 1978 – 3
• 1979 – 6
• 1980 – 4
• 1981 – 2
• 1982 – 3
• 1983 – 2
• 1984 – 2
• 1985 – 5
• 1986 – 3
• 1987 – 8
• 1988 – 6
• 1989 – 5
• 1990 – 6
• 1991 – 7
• 1992 – 5
• 1993 – 5
• 1994 – 7
• 1995 – 4
• 1996 – 8
• 1997 – 10
• 1998 – 8
• 1999 – 10
• 2000 – 9
• 2001 – 9
• 2002 – 8
• 2003 – 3
• 2004 – 3
• 2005 – 3
• 2006 – 3
• 2007 – 3
• 2008 – 1
• 2009 – 0
• 2010 – 1
• 2011 – 1
• 2012 – 1
• 2013 – 1
• 2014 – 1
• 2015 – 2
• 2016 – 0
• 2017 – 0
• 2018 – 1
• 2019 – 0
• 2020 – 0

France best selling albums ever

01 Céline Dion – D’Eux (1995) : 4 265 000
02 Michael Jackson – Thriller (1982) : 3 825 000
03 Francis Cabrel – Samedi Soir Sur La Terre (1994) : 3 415 000
04 Andrea Bocelli – Romanza (1997) : 2 855 000
05 Musical – Notre-Dame De Paris (1998) : 2 840 000
06 Louise Attaque – Louise Attaque (1997) : 2 820 000
07 Queen – Greatest Hits II (1991) : 2 580 000
08 Patrick Bruel – Entre Deux (2002) : 2 240 000
09 Patrick Bruel – Alors Regarde (1989) : 2 200 000
10 Michael Jackson – Dangerous (1991) : 2 195 000

11 Stromae – Racine Carrée (2013) : 2 190 000
12 Era – Era (1997) : 2 190 000
13 Renaud – Boucan D’Enfer (2002) : 2 145 000
14 Musical – Starmania (1978) : 2 105 000
15 Johnny Hallyday – Sang Pour Sang (1999) : 2 085 000
16 Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygène (1976) : 2 080 000
17 Florent Pagny – Savoir Aimer (1997) : 2 075 000
18 Soundtrack – Grease (1978) : 2 055 000
19 Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms (1985) : 2 050 000
20 Jacques Brel – Les Marquises (1977) : 2 040 000

21 Francis Cabrel – Sarbacane (1989) : 1 995 000 
22 Bob Marley – Legend (1984) : 1 990 000
23 Lara Fabian – Pure (1996) : 1 980 000
24 Garou – Seul (2000) : 1 980 000
25 Francis Cabrel – Hors-Saison (1999) : 1 915 000
26 Céline Dion – S’il Suffisait D’Aimer (1998) : 1 905 000
27 Adele – 21 (2011) : 1 890 000
28 Manu Chao – Clandestino (1998) : 1 865 000
29 ABBA – Gold – Greatest Hits (1992) : 1 865 000
30 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Singulier (1996) : 1 845 000

31 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Non Homologué (1985) : 1 840 000
32 Michael Jackson – Bad (1987) : 1 830 000
33 Nirvana – Nevermind (1991) : 1 820 000
34 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Chansons Pour Les Pieds (2001) : 1 810 000
35 Johnny Hallyday – À La Vie, À La Mort (2002) : 1 800 000
36 Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) : 1 790 000
37 Manau – Panique Celtique (1998) : 1 785 000
38 Soundtrack – Dirty Dancing (1987) : 1 780 000
39 Soundtrack / Éric Serra – Le Grand Bleu (1988) : 1 775 000
40 Elton John – The Very Best Of (1990) : 1 740 000

41 Soundtrack / Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard (1992) : 1 735 000
42 Soundtrack / Bruno Coulais – Les Choristes (2004) : 1 730 000
43 Queen – Greatest Hits (1981) : 1 715 000
44 Soundtrack / James Horner – Titanic (1997) : 1 695 000
45 Michael Jackson – HIStory (1995) : 1 690 000
46 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Entre Gris Clair Et Gris Foncé (1987) : 1 670 000
47 Yannick Noah – Yannick Noah (2000) : 1 655 000
48 Christophe Maé – Mon Paradis (2007) : 1 630 000
49 Céline Dion – Let’s Talk About Love (1997) : 1 615 000
50 Neil Young – Harvest (1972) : 1 610 000

51 Norah Jones – Come Away With Me (2002) : 1 610 000
52 Mylène Farmer – Les Mots (2001) : 1 570 000
53 Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979) : 1 565 000
54 Florent Pagny – Bienvenue Chez Moi (1995) : 1 560 000
55 The Cranberries – No Need To Argue (1994) : 1 555 000
56 Soundtrack / Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever (1977) : 1 545 000
57 Patrick Bruel – Juste Avant (1999) : 1 545 000
58 Francis Cabrel – Cabrel 77-87 (1987) : 1 540 000
59 Raphael – Caravane (2005) : 1 535 000
60 Johnny Hallyday – Mon Pays C’est L’Amour (2018) : 1 525 000

61 Amy Winehouse – Back To Black (2006) : 1 510 000
62 The Beatles – 1967-1970 (1973) : 1 505 000
63 Renaud – Morgane De Toi (1983) : 1 500 000
64 Musical – Roméo Et Juliette, De La Haine À L’Amour (2000) : 1 500 000
65 Patricia Kaas – Mademoiselle Chante… (1988) : 1 495 000
66 Jacques Brel – 15 Ans D’Amour (1988) : 1 485 000
67 Jean-Jacques Goldman – En Passant (1997) : 1 480 000
68 Mylène Farmer – Ainsi Soit Je… (1988) : 1 475 000
69 Henri Salvador – Chambre Avec Vue (2000) : 1 470 000
70 Hélène Ségara – Au Nom D’Une Femme (2000) : 1 470 000

71 Kendji Girac – Kendji (2014) : 1 465 000
72 Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975) : 1 465 000
73 Charles Aznavour – 20 Chansons D’Or (1987) : 1 465 000
74 Alain Souchon – C’Est Déjà Ca (1993) : 1 465 000
75 Fredericks Goldman Jones – Fredericks Goldman Jones (1990) : 1 440 000
76 Calogero – Calogero (2002) : 1 435 000
77 Mika – Life in Cartoon Motion (2007) : 1 435 000
78 Mylène Farmer – L’Autre… (1991) : 1 430 000
79 Carla Bruni – Quelqu’un M’A Dit (2002) : 1 410 000
80 Ace Of Base – Happy Nation (1993) : 1 405 000

81 Richard Clayderman – Rêveries (1979) : 1 400 000
82 Roch Voisine – Hélène (1989) : 1 400 000
83 Eagles – Hotel California (1976) : 1 390 000
84 The Beatles – 1962-1966 (1973) : 1 375 000
85 Calogero – 3 (2004) : 1 375 000
86 Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinoxe (1978) : 1 355 000
87 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Positif (1984) : 1 350 000
88 Patricia Kaas – Je Te Dis Vous (1993) : 1 345 000
89 Johnny Hallyday – Gang (1986) : 1 345 000
90 Renaud – Mistral Gagnant (1985) : 1 340 000

91 Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman (1988) : 1 340 000
92 Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits (1972) : 1 340 000
93 Kyo – Le Chemin (2003) : 1 340 000
94 Pascal Obispo – Superflu (1996) : 1 340 000
95 IAM – L’Ecole Du Micro D’Argent (1997) : 1 335 000
96 Dire Straits – On Every Street (1991) : 1 335 000
97 Maxime Le Forestier – Mon Frère (1972) : 1 335 000
98 Julio Iglesias – A Vous Les Femmes (1979) : 1 330 000
99 Johnny Hallyday – Rock ‘N’ Roll Attitude (1985) : 1 330 000
100 Johnny Clegg & Savuka – Third World Child (1987) : 1 320 000

101 Gérald de Palmas – Marcher Dans Le Sable (2000) : 1 315 000
102 Francis Cabrel – Fragile (1980) : 1 310 000
103 Phil Collins – …But Seriously (1989) : 1 310 000
104 Supertramp – Breakfast In America (1979) : 1 305 000
105 Yannick Noah – Pokhara (2003) : 1 300 000
106 Mariah Carey – Music Box (1993) : 1 295 000
107 U2 – War (1983) : 1 290 000
108 Jean-Philippe Audin & Diego Modena – Ocarina (1991) : 1 290 000
109 Yannick Noah – Charango (2006) : 1 280 000
110 Pow woW – Regagner Les Plaines (1992) : 1 270 000
111 U2 – The Joshua Tree (1987) : 1 265 000
112 Simon & Garfunkel – The Concert In Central Park (1982) : 1 260 000
113 L5 – L5 (2001) : 1 260 000
114 Supertramp – The Very Best Of (1990) : 1 255 000
115 Dido – No Angel (1999) : 1 255 000
116 Indochine – Paradize (2002) : 1 250 000
117 Noir Désir – Des Visages Et Des Figures (2001) : 1 245 000
118 Phil Collins – Serious Hits… Live (1990) : 1 245 000
119 François Feldman – Une Présence (1989) : 1 240 000
120 U2 – Best Of 1980-1990 (1998) : 1 235 000
121 Alain Souchon – Au Ras Des Pâquerettes (1999) : 1 235 000
122 Dire Straits – Money For Nothing (1988) : 1 225 000
123 Fugees – The Score (1996) : 1 225 000
124 Jean Ferrat – Ferrat Chante Aragon (1971) : 1 225 000
125 Emile & Images – Jusqu’Au Bout De La Nuit (1999) : 1 225 000
126 Fredericks Goldman Jones – Rouge (1993) : 1 220 000
127 Daniel Balavoine – Sauver L’Amour (1985) : 1 210 000
128 Yves Duteil – Tarentelle (1977) : 1 205 000
129 Bénabar – Reprise Des Négociations (2005) : 1 205 000
130 Lionel Richie – Back To Front (1992) : 1 185 000
131 Musical – Les Dix Commandements (2000) : 1 185 000
132 AC/DC – Live (1992) : 1 180 000
133 Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York (1994) : 1 175 000
134 Musical – Notre-Dame De Paris (Intégrale) (1998) : 1 175 000
135 Zaz – Zaz (2010) : 1 155 000
136 Jean-Jacques Goldman – Minoritaire (1982) : 1 155 000
137 Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento (1999) : 1 150 000
138 Moby – Play (1999) : 1 140 000
139 Michel Sardou – Les Lacs Du Conemara (1981) : 1 130 000
140 Isabelle Boulay – Mieux Qu’Ici-Bas (2000) : 1 125 000
141 Francis Cabrel – Les Chemins De Traverse (1979) : 1 120 000
142 Soundtrack – Pulp Fiction (1994) : 1 115 000
143 AC/DC – Back In Black (1980) : 1 115 000
144 Soundtrack / Yann Tiersen – Amélie Poulain (2001) : 1 105 000
145 Madonna – True Blue (1986) : 1 105 000
146 The Beatles – One (2000) : 1 100 000
147 Madonna – The Immaculate Collection (1990) : 1 100 000
148 Tino Rossi – C’est La Belle Nuit De Noêl (1973) : 1 095 000
149 Tina Arena – In Deep (1997) : 1 090 000
150 Suprême NTM – Suprême NTM (1998) : 1 085 000
151 Soundtrack – The Lion King (1994) : 1 085 000
152 Spice Girls – Spice (1996) : 1 085 000
153 Seal – Soul (2008) : 1 085 000
154 Barry White – Ultimate Collection (1999) : 1 080 000
155 Florent Pagny – Ailleurs land (2003) : 1 080 000
156 André Rieu – Valses (1997) : 1 080 000
157 Star Academy 2 – Chante Les Années 80 (2002) : 1 080 000
158 Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion Esperanza (2001) : 1 075 000
159 Louane – Chambre 12 (2015) : 1 075 000
160 France Gall – Babacar (1987) : 1 065 000
161 Patricia Kaas – Scène De Vie (1990) : 1 065 000
162 Michel Sardou – La Java De Broadway (1977) : 1 065 000
163 Grégory Lemarchal – La Voix D’Un Ange (2007) : 1 055 000
164 Simon & Garfunkel – The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel (1991) : 1 055 000
165 Michel Sardou – Du Plaisir (2004) : 1 050 000
166 Richard Cocciante – Compilation 74-94 (1994) : 1 045 000
167 Céline Dion – Falling Into You (1996) : 1 045 000
168 Mylène Farmer – Anamorphosée (1995) : 1 035 000
169 Julio Iglesias – Sentimental (1980) : 1 030 000
170 Star Academy – L’Album (2001) : 1 030 000
171 Compilation – Génération Goldman (2012) : 1 025 000
172 Madonna – Ray Of Light (1998) : 1 025 000
173 Michel Berger – Pour Me Comprendre (2001) : 1 020 000
174 Noir Désir – 666.667 Club (1996) : 1 015 000
175 Laura Pausini – E Ritorno (2001) : 1 010 000
176 Diam’s – Dans Ma Bulle (2006) : 1 010 000
177 James Blunt – Back To Bedlam (2005) : 1 010 000
178 Santana – Supernatural (1999) : 1 005 000
179 AC/DC – Highway to Hell (1979) : 1 005 000
180 Bob Marley – Uprising (1980) : 1 005 000
181 Adele – 25 (2015) : 1 000 000
182 Worlds Apart – Everybody (1996) : 1 000 000
183 Jean-Jacques Goldman – En Public (1986) : 1 000 000
184 Michel Berger – Celui Qui Chante (1994) : 1 000 000

As usual, feel free to comment and / or ask a question!