French Sweep: December 17, 2013...

It's time to cross over to check out the songs making the official weekly sales chart in France....

The top-selling song in the country is a charity effort performed at a French telethon to aid research for genetic diseases, "Un Arc en Ciel" ("A Rainbow"). It teams up Patrick Bruel (the ex-husband of the songwriter), French singer/songwriter Benabar, singer Cali, and Marina Russo, who has been living with spinal cord degeneration.

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French rapper Maitre Gims, a member of the Sexion D'Assaut hip-hop group, re-released an expanded version of his debut album Subliminal, which rockets back into the top-ten at #6 on the albums chart. Meanwhile, six of the new track sell enough on their own to make the top 100 singles chart. Up at #3 is the first, "Zombie", the new official single..

As human rights icon Nelson Mandela passed away last week, many songs honoring the South African leader from throughout the years arrive on the charts in this country. First at #11 is British new wavers Simple Minds with "Mandela Day", making its first appearance on the chart in this country for this song from 1989. It also becomes the band's best rank out of six trips to the top-40 here...

The second Maitre Gims track to arrive is "Warano-Style" at #21...

Another Mandela-related track entering the chart is more coincidental as U2 is in at #42 with a song recorded for the recent documentary on the man, "Ordinary Love"...

The New World Sound and Thomas Newsom pair up at #43 for their first hit "Flute"...

Maitre Gims again pops in with "Monstre Marin" ("Sea Monster")...

...and also at #54 with "Close Your Eyes" with Jr. O Crom...

David Carreira, a singer of Portuguese heritage born in the Parisian suburb of Dourdan, debuts at #55 with his first hit here, "Obrigado la famille" ("Thanks to the family") featuring rapper Dry...

Maitre Gims appears again at #58 with "De Marseille A Paris" (from Marseilles to Paris)...

...and yet again at #65 with "You Lose"...

The artistic collective Les Enfoires are back at #79 with "La Chanson du Benevole'" ("Volunteer Song")...

The ninth of Justin Bieber's "Music Mondays" singles, "Change Me", arrives at #84..

Anais Delva delivers the French translation of the Disney movie Frozen's best moment, "Liberee, Delivree" ("Let It Go" in the English version), and it makes the chart at #86. Two years ago she went to #43 with "1,2,3"...

The last entry on the chart is by the late American vocal great Esther Phillips as she makes her first appearance on the chart in France at #91 with "Try Me" from 1970...