French Sweep: March 5, 2013...

It's time to check out the newest songs making their way on to the weekly official chart in France this week, as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis cash in a fifth week at #1 with "Thrift Shop"...

The top entry all the way at #6 this week is by British indie-pop group Alt-J with their first hit in this country, "Matilda". This is by far the best they've seen, as they only went to #83 in the UK with the track (though the album has gone gold there)...

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Actor/singer Murray Head, who most Americans know for his 80's hit "One Night In Bangkok", comes in at #19 with the song "Say It Ain't So Joe", originally released in 1975. I'm not sure why it's getting such sales, but he does have a big fanbase in this country...

French singer Emmanuel Moire arrives at #25 with his latest, "Beau Malheur" ("Beautiful Misfortune"). The "out" performer has reached the top-10 four time in this country, with "Je Fais De Toi Mon Essentiel" reaching #3 in 2005...

Singer (Damien) Saez debuts at #67 with "Miami"; in 2000, he reached #14 with "Jeune et con"...

French rapper Kaaris comes in at #78 with "Zoo", his first to reach the top-100..

Alt-rockers from Versailles, Phoenix return at #79 with their first new music in four years, "Entertainment". Back in 2001 their single "If I Feel Better" reached #12...

Scottish DJ/producer Calvin Harris finally gets his former #1 UK/top-10 US hit "Sweet Nothing" featuring Florence Welch on the chart in France at #81. His previous single "Feel So Close" is still going strong here at #15 after 36 weeks...

Another US top-10 single finally making it here is Maroon 5's "Daylight" coming in at #84. It follows three straight top-10 hits with "Moves Like Jagger", "Payphone", and "One More Night"...

Belgian singer/songwriter Axelle Red enters at #89 with "Rouge Ardent" ("Red Hot"). She has had three #2 singles in France, with "Manhattan-Kaboul" the latest in 2002...

French musician Michel Bernholc arrives at #93 with a song from the cult 80s French film series Le Bronze's, "Les Bronze's Font Du Ski"...

Another Belgian singer, Lara Fabian, has had much more success worldwide, and also has eight top-10 singles in this country to her name, and she's back at #98 with "Deux 'ils' et Deux 'elles'", a song promoting marriage equality, which is now in debate in this country..Turn on the subtitles in English it's so worth it...

The last debut of the week is by newcomer Alex Hepburn with his first top-100 hit, "Under"...

That does it for the latest in France, I'll cross the border and be back later with the latest in Germany. Au revoir!