France Best Selling Albums Ever:
Update Part 2

90s Dying Records

Patricia Kaas – Scène De Vie (1990) : 1 060 000

If she ultimately lost the historical clash created by 80s Medias against the supposed rival Mylène Farmer, during their first few years Patricia Kaas was no doubt a ferocious challenger. Her second million seller from a run of three consecutive such performers, Scène De Vie is the worst seller of them today. Lacking a long lasting hit, this album hasn’t used the 2016 comeback of the artist to sell well either. Instead, a 2014 box containing her five albums released from 1990 to 2002 took over the few sales generated by this promotion. Those sales are not eligible for this stand-alone album as per rules set last year, which explains why Scène De Vie appears so low.

Simon & Garfunkel – The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel (1991) : 1 050 000

American duo Simon & Garfunkel managed the insane feat of selling more than 1 million units of 3 albums on the back of the same singles – 1972 Greatest Hits, 1982 The Concert In Central Park and 1991 The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel. The original album Bridge Over Troubled Water from 1970 and 1990 set The Collection also sold a million units combined. All those compilations – minus the studio album – got replaced by The Essential in 2003. Believe it or not, the winner among the duo catalog this year was none of them as it is their 2002 package The Best Of which charted 8 weeks in 2016. The album of interest today, The Definitive, is barely selling a few digital copies while being physically deleted just like Money For Nothing of Dire Straits.

Alain Souchon – C’Est Déjà Ca (1993) : 1 460 000

Already a popular singer for long when releasing 1993 album C’Est Déjà Ca, Alain Souchon stepped up several stages in one time thanks to the single Foule Sentimentale from this album, a track that remains one of the most famous songs of all-time in France. The studio album isn’t selling much this days due to the predictable cannibalization from various compilation and live albums, including 2016 record Le Concert which remained Top 20 all over the Christmas season.