Allez! All the French Tunes You Need for Bastille Day and the Tour de France

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In: Music Resources, Theme Ride Thursday, Tour de France
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Bastille Day is July 14. The Tour de France happens in the month of July. And there is always a reason to play French music in your cycling classes all year round.

I’ve been using French music in Tour de France stages since the mid 1990s. One of my other passions is to ride my bike in France. I worked for a couple different American luxury bike tour companies in France from 1989 to 2001 and I started my own luxury bike tour company in 2003, taking groups to ride in France, including the Tour de France. I also had a passion for French electronic and dance music. I believe I was one of the first to introduce certain French songs to the indoor cycling community in my Tour de France sessions at WSSC beginning in 2004. These included now popular songs in cycling classes such as “Tu Es Foutu” by In-Grid, “Désenchantée” by Kate Ryan (and another version by Mylène Farmer), and songs by the group Les Negresses Vertes. 

Now I have put together one of the most comprehensive collections of classic and modern French songs for your Tour de France and Bastille Day celebrations—or any class that warrants some good foreign music. Below you’ll find my Spotify playlist with 550 songs of all genres: pop, rock, hip-hop, electronic, dance, and alternative. A second playlist contains about 70 classic French songs that are excellent as pre- and post-class music or for recoveries or interludes. 

If you have a favorite that I haven’t included, please share it below in the comments. I want to continue adding songs with French lyrics, so every suggestion is welcome! 

Allez! Allez!

8 Comments

  1. Just returned from France – and of course, biking the Alps – so this is a wonderful inspiration to a French-themed session or two.
    A shortlist of “haut des pops” from this extensive list would be a nice addition.
    Thanks!

  2. somewhat random question about spotify, do you–or anyone reading this-know how to view the length of time of each song? i love your playlists but when they are 29hours worth of music can’t click on each song individually to see how long it is!
    thanks! and thanks for the inspiration. i’m creating my tourmalet profile today so perfect timing.

    1. Author

      On a desktop or laptop you can see the time for each song in a playlist so when creating profiles, I recommend you do it from a computer rather than your phone.

      From the phone, I don’t know if there is a way to change the appearance so the song length is visible.

      I’ve got a Stage 19 profile coming out in a few days using songs mostly from this playlist! Make sure to check back soon.

      1. thanks. i always create profiles on my laptop (PC not mac) but cannot see length of time . even on your playlists . i appreciate your time

        1. Author

          Now that is weird. Have you tried making Spotify wider? I know sometimes when it’s on my desktop and isn’t very wide, I can’t see the time, but when I grab one side with my cursor and drag it to the side, all of a sudden I can see it.

          You can also try making the center part wider. On the left column is your playlists. You can adjust the width of that by grabbing the middle edge of it with your cursor.

          If neither of those work, you might try Googling it or asking in one of the indoor cycling FB groups—there are a lot of seasoned Spotify users in those groups who might know the answer.

          I’m sorry I don’t know enough to help you!

    1. Author

      thanks Bill, I added it to the playlist! If you have any other songs with French lyrics, let me know.

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