French Christmas Tunes: Classics & Kitsch Disco Delights
Perfect listening, no matter how sincere (or not) you feel about the holidays.
French Christmas Songs?
Walking around France during the holiday season, you hear a lot of Christmas music, but it’s all in English. Maybe it’s just where I go, but Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” seems to be on a perpetual loop, and Wham!’s “Last Christmas” is a constant, even with people singing along in the supermarket. There was even a man belting it out in the beer aisle of Carrefour, and when we made eye contact, it somehow wasn’t awkward.
Ah, the magic of the holidays.
I’ve heard deeper cuts, like The Waitresses’ “Christmas Wrapping” and Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” (a personal favorite). French Christmas songs seem few and far between - it’s not just tourist spots and shopping malls.
Yet, France boasts a rich, if understated, history of holiday tunes. Just as English holiday music has produced its share of questionable ideas (the Star Wars Christmas Album and Twisted Sister’s holiday record - Twisted Christmas - come to mind), France has its own quirky contributions—though maybe with a bit more restraint.
synth disco medley
One of those challenges the limits of good taste is French Champagne’s “Disco Christmas (Medley),” a 5-minute gem combining traditional holiday songs into a synth-driven 1970s disco medley. Beautifully kitsch muzak for the holidays.
French Champagne was some earlier work by Jean-Luc Drion, a man clearly comfortable remixing almost any genre into disco.
French classics like “Petit Papa Noël” and “Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant”(I had to include the Siouxsie & the Banshees version), are combined with English language classics like “Jingle Bells,” funk basslines, driving rhythms and keys.
Jean-Luc Drion is better known for his work after “Disco Christmas:” he was a part of Magazine 60 and Monte Kristo, whose 1985 single “The Girl of Lucifer” reached #8 on the French charts. The video is gloriously campy as pulsing synths play over a melodramatic tale of seduction (I think?). With its eurodisco beat, some spooky theatrics and lots of neon, I still don’t quite know what to make of the Woman in the video. If she is the actual “Girl” of Lucifer in the video, I’d imagine that she would be more devilish or threatening or… something?
But, if cringe is evil, then they’re both from Hell.
the most classic French Christmas classics
If you need a more sincere dose of holiday music, there are some classics, of course:
Charles Aznavour’s “Noël a Pàris” is just beautiful.
Then there’s Tino Rossi’s 1946 classic, “Petit Papa Noël” - released in 1946 the gentle ballad is also the best-selling French single of all time, with over 30 million copies sold. It’s a sweet song, full of holiday nostalgia.
Lastly, if you just need a playlist, some Québécois put together a fine DJ Set, featuring a nicely curated set of 60’s and 70’s francophone Christmas tunes, beautifully done. I guarantee they’ll sound familiar even if you don’t understand French.