Michael in France
Michael in France
The official French charts, as compiled by Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique (SNEP), were first published in January 1995. The current charts are:
Top 100 Singles.
Top 250 Albums.
Top 40 Compilations (various artist & best of/greatest hits compilation albums).
The albums chart started as a Top 50, growing to a Top 75 in November 1997, a Top 150 in December 2000, a Top 200 in February 2004 and a Top 250 in April 2004.
The Compilations chart began as a Top 5 in March 1987 (various artist albums only), growing to a Top 10 in April 1989 (and including best of/greatest hits compilations). The first SNEP chart was a Top 25, which increased to a Top 40 in December 2000.
Numerous charts were published in France before 1995, the chart action we have listed here is as detailed on the French InfoDisc site.
SNEP began certifying singles and albums sales in 1973, and over the years the sales necessary for certification have changed several times.
Singles Sales Awards:
1973: Gold = 500,000.
1980: Gold = 500,000, Platinum = 1 million.
1985: Silver = 200,000, Gold = 500,000, Platinum = 1 million.
1988: Silver = 200,000, Gold = 400,000, Platinum = 800,000.
1991: Silver = 125,000, Gold = 250,000, Platinum = 500,000, Diamond = 750,000.
2005: Silver = 100,000, Gold = 200,000, Platinum = 300,000, Diamond = 500,000.
Albums Sales Awards:
1973: Gold = 100,000.
1980: Gold = 100,000, Platinum = 400,000.
1988: Gold = 100,000, Platinum = 300,000, Diamond = 1 million.
1991: Gold = 100,000, Platinum = 300,000, Diamond = 1 million.
Music Videos / DVDs Awards:
Gold = 10,000, Platinum = 20,000
Many thanks to David Adam for sales figures for some official singles & albums in France, and for details of Music Video / DVD certifications; and to MJDangerous for posting details of Michael's hit music DVDs on ukmix.
KEY:
Date = date of chart entry.
HP = peak position reached on the singles/albums chart.
Wks = weeks spent on the singles/albums chart.
re = re-entry, ri = reissue.
If applicable, weeks spent at no.1 is given in brackets.
Singles
| Date | HP | Wks | Title - Sales Award/Date |
| Jan 73 | 45 | 4 | Ben |
| Oct 79 | 11 | 19 | Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough |
| Jan 83 | 1(3) | 22 | Billie Jean PLATINUM/1983 |
| May 83 | 2 | 27 | Beat It PLATINUM/1983 |
| Sep 83 | 20 | 9 | Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' |
| Oct 83 | 1(1) | 27 | Say Say Say (& Paul McCartney) GOLD/1984 |
| Dec 83 | 1(3) | 21 | Thriller PLATINUM/1984 |
| Apr 84 | 1(6) | 18 | Somebody's Watching Me (with Rockwell) |
| Apr 84 | 28 | 8 | P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) |
| Apr 84 | 42 | 6 | Ease On Down The Road (& Diana Ross) (ri) |
| Mar 85 | 1(3) | 25 | We Are The World (with USA For Africa) PLATINUM/1985 |
| Aug 87 | 6 | 16 | I Just Can't Stop Loving You (& Siedah Garrett) |
| Sep 87 | 3 | 22 | Bad SILVER/1987 |
| Dec 87 | 15 | 16 | The Way You Make Me Feel |
| Dec 87 | 57 | 11 | Get It (& Stevie Wonder) |
| Jan 88 | 18 | 28 | Man In The Mirror |
| May 88 | 7 | 21 | Dirty Diana |
| Jul 88 | 21 | 16 | Another Part Of Me |
| Dec 88 | 6 | 19 | Smooth Criminal SILVER/1988 |
| Feb 89 | 17 | 18 | Leave Me Alone |
| Jul 89 | 10 | 17 | Liberian Girl |
| May 90 | 61 | 1 | Billie Jean (re) |
| Nov 91 | 1(2) | 23 | Black Or White SILVER/1991 |
| Feb 92 | 3 | 17 | Remember The Time |
| Apr 92 | 3 | 15 | In The Closet (& Mystery Girl) |
| Jul 92 | 2 | 19 | Who Is It |
| Sep 92 | 9 | 15 | Jam |
| Oct 92 | 1(2) | 28 | Heal The World SILVER/1992 |
| Mar 93 | 10 | 16 | Give In To Me |
| Jul 93 | 19 | 12 | Will You Be There |
| Jul 93 | 36 | 4 | Whatzupwitu (& Eddie Murphy) |
| Dec 93 | 26 | 11 | Gone Too Soon |
| May 95 | 4 | 14 | Scream (& Janet Jackson) |
| Aug 95 | 1(1) | 20 | You Are Not Alone GOLD/1995 |
| Nov 95 | 2 | 21 | Earth Song GOLD/1996 |
| Mar 96 | 4 | 19 | They Don't Care About Us SILVER/1996 |
| Aug 96 | 9 | 14 | Why (& 3T) SILVER/1996 |
| Sep 96 | 18 | 9 | Stranger In Moscow |
| Apr 97 | 11 | 8 | Blood On The Dance Floor |
| Jul 97 | 33 | 10 | History / Ghosts |
| Oct 97 | 68 | 3 | Ghosts (re) |
| Jan 98 | 100 | 2 | On The Line |
| Aug 01 | 1(3) | 28 | You Rock My World GOLD/2001 |
| Dec 01 | 16 | 16 | Cry |
| Oct 03 | 41 | 12 | One More Chance |
| Mar 06 | 35 | 4 | Thriller (ri) |
| Mar 06 | 52 | 3 | Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (ri) |
| Mar 06 | 59 | 2 | Rock With You (ri) |
| Mar 06 | 45 | 4 | Billie Jean (ri) |
| Mar 06 | 47 | 3 | Beat It (ri) |
| Mar 06 | 48 | 3 | Bad (ri) |
| Apr 06 | 59 | 2 | The Way You Make Me Feel (ri) |
| Apr 06 | 62 | 3 | Dirty Diana (ri) |
| Apr 06 | 61 | 3 | Smooth Criminal (ri) |
| Apr 06 | 54 | 2 | Leave Me Alone (ri) |
| Apr 06 | 64 | 2 | Black Or White (ri) |
| May 06 | 63 | 3 | Remember The Time (ri) |
| May 06 | 63 | 2 | In The Closet & Mystery Girl) (ri) |
| May 06 | 55 | 2 | Jam (ri) |
| May 06 | 60 | 2 | Heal The World (ri) |
| Jun 06 | 60 | 1 | You Are Not Alone (ri) |
| Jun 06 | 66 | 2 | They Don't Care About Us (ri) |
| Jan 08 | 54 | 1 | Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (re) |
| Feb 08 | 22 | 11 | The Girl Is Mine 2008 (& will.i.am) |
| Mar 08 | 10 | 23 | Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008 (& Akon) |
Beat It has sold 1.2 million copies in France. Billie Jean and Thriller have sold a million copies each, as has We Are The World.
Albums
| Date | HP | Wks | Title - Sales Award/Year |
| ??? | |||
| Sep 87 | 1(6) | 104 | Bad DIAMOND/1989 |
| Jul 88 | 16 | 23 | Thriller DIAMOND/1988 |
| Jul 88 | 27 | 4 | Off The Wall PLATINUM/1995 |
| Dec 91 | 1(11) | 94 | Dangerous DIAMOND/1992 |
| Mar 92 | 6 | 2 | Motown's Greatest Hits |
| Jun 95 | 1(2) | 109 | History Past, Present And Future Book 1 DIAMOND/1996 |
| May 97 | 1(1) | 23 | Blood On The Dance Floor PLATINUM/1997 |
| Oct 01 | 33 | 7 | Thriller (special edition) |
| Oct 01 | 43 | 5 | Bad (special edition) |
| Oct 01 | 53 | 3 | Off The Wall (special edition) |
| Oct 01 | 67 | 4 | Dangerous (special edition) |
| Oct 01 | 1(3) | 18 | Invincible PLATINUM/2001 |
| Nov 01 | 10 | 6 | Greatest Hits History Volume 1 |
| Nov 03 | 5 | 13 | Number Ones |
| Nov 04 | 29 | 1 | The Ultimate Collection (box-set) |
| Jul 05 | 1(6) | 29 | The Essential 2 x GOLD/2005 |
| Feb 08 | 1(3) | 33+ | Thriller 25 2 x GOLD/2008 |
Motown's Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits History Volume 1, Number Ones, The Ultimate Collection & The Essential all charted on the Compilations album chart.
Michael's best selling albums in France are:
Invincible, which has sold around 600,000 copies, shifted 166,000 in its first week - the highest ever first week sales for a foreign album in France.
Music Videos & DVDs
| Date | HP | Wks | Title - Sales Award/Year |
| ? | The Legend Continues... GOLD/? | ||
| ??? | |||
| ? | Ghosts (box-set) 2 x PLATINUM/1998 | ||
| Oct 03 | 12 | 10 | Video Greatest Hits - History (re) 3 x PLATINUM/1995 |
| Oct 03 | 14 | 2 | History On Film Volume II (re) 2 x PLATINUM/? |
| Nov 03 | 8 | 37 | Number Ones |
| Feb 05 | 37 | 1 | The One |
| Jul 05 | 19 | 9 | Dangerous - The Short Films (re) 3 x PLATINUM/? |
| Jul 05 | 1(8) | 47 | Live In Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour |
| Feb 08 | 3 | 28 | Live In Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour (re) |
| Feb 08 | 6 | 25 | Number Ones (re) |
| Feb 08 | 8 | 11 | Video Greatest Hits - History (re) |
| Feb 08 | 13 | 6 | History On Film Volume II (re) |
| Feb 08 | 22 | 3 | Dangerous - The Short Films (re) |