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Aix en Provence DJ in Vanity Fair top 40

List of the most influential French people in the World 2016

featured in News & reviews Author Ellie Mahoney, Provence Editor Updated

Vanity Fair have just released their list of the most influential French people in the world and although it may be a surprise to some people to see singers "Christine & the Queens" at the top of the list, a 19 year old DJ from Aix en Provence has also made the grade.

DJ Kungs (otherwise known as Valentin Brunel) came in at no. 36. The 19 year old DJ, who hails from Aix en Provence, is a musician and record producer topped the UK singles chart with "This Girl" in 2016, having started making music at the age of just five years old. He is a massive hit on YouTube and has just released his debut album this month.

Christine and the Queens ranked top of the pops (well Vanity Fair's list at least) having sold over 1 million albums worldwide with her English/French mix of catchy pop songs. If you've seen her in concert or at a festival this summer, she's also very fond of creating some quirky choreography to go with her music. The 28 year old takes the no.1 spot from last year's winner, Carlos Ghosn the Chairman and CEO of Renault and in the issue before that, Christine Lagarde - director of the IMF.

Actress Nora Arnezeder made the list (no.42) along with a mixture including writers, heads of business, artists, an archaeologist, two footballers, Olympic athletes and mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo. The CEO of facebook Yann Lecun was ranked no.12 and ballet director Aurélie Dupont, no.3.

This is the fourth year that Vanity Fair have produced the list and although there are some 'usual suspects' in there, to have a young female musician at the top of the the list is a first. Take a look at the full results here.