France best selling albums ever:
Roméo Et Juliette Musical (2000)

The first major musical to be released on the back of Notre-Dame De Paris success, Roméo Et Juliette had some heavy work to do in order to compete with its illistruous predecessor. Lead single Aimer was a solid first step, spending six weeks at #2.

Thanks to this success, the album started with eight weeks inside the Top 10 from its April 2000 release. Dropping to #24 by mid-July, it was a mistake to think the set was over. In fact, second single Les Rois Du Monde  became a gigantic smash spending the insane total of 17 weeks at #1. Among others, it notably blocked Alizée‘s huge hit Moi… Lolita 13 weeks at #2.

The album instantly responded by climbing back on charts, reaching a new #2 peak in September. During the four months of the single domination, that ended during Christmas week at the end of the year, Roméo Et Juliette album never left the Top 10, ultimately being the #1 album during December rush.

This year of success was captured by two highly desired prizes at the end of it: #1 selling album of the year and Diamond certification. The album  crossed the million mark very late in the year. It sold 450,000 more copies in 2001, including some 100,000 shipped in previous year. Mid-price campaigns added 80,000 units to the tally in 2002 and about 60,000 since.

Net shipment as of the end of 2015 is estimated at 1,490,000 copies.

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

Sources: SNEP, IFOP, RFI Musique.