Where to find French music in the Bay Area: Alliance Française de SF runs the Fête de la Musique parties at 1345 Bush Street; MerciSF tracks the French electronic and DJ circuit at venues like SFMOMA and The Midway.

Alliance Française de San Francisco, 1345 Bush Street, is San Francisco's hub for Fête de la Musique. On June 5, the nonprofit ran its annual celebration — "Music Day: La Vie en Rose" — with eight live bands across two rooms from 6 PM to nearly midnight. La Gauloise All Stars, an eight-piece ensemble, covered Téléphone, Jacques Dutronc, Joe Dassin, and Vanessa Paradis; Violetta Vieux handled French pop from the '70s through the '90s. French bites and cocktails were available for purchase; admission pricing was not listed on the AFSF website. Their next event is a Bastille Day celebration on July 18 — details at afsf.com or (415) 775-7755. The venue is a short walk from the 19-Polk or 49 Van Ness–Mission Muni lines.

For the electronic side, MerciSF (mercisf.com) partners with the French Consulate General and the Villa Albertine artist residency to bring French DJs and producers to Bay Area stages. This June, MerciSF co-organized a "Rooftop Radio: French Electro Pop" night at SFMOMA and brought French DJ Franky Boissy to The Midway for a summer solstice set.

The scene isn't a single festival. Alliance Française for the chanson and French-pop parties; MerciSF for the club nights. Both have mailing lists worth signing up for.