Synths, Sax & Situationists The French Underground rock scene

Synths, Sax & Situationists by Ian Thompson came out recently and looks into the French Underground scene of the 1970s Synths, Sax & Situationists is the website connected to the book.
I'm semi familiar with a few of the bands covered. Would like to be more familiar and the book appeears to be a pretty good guide.
I'm not seeing a thread dedicated to the scene so thought I'd start one.
Looks like it was a scene that gave us a few pretty great bands. Lard Free, Gong, Moving Gelatine Plates, Magma, Cheval Fou, Fille Qui Mousse, and Barricade among others.
Book ends in 1978 but I'm aware of a couple of good underground bands from a little later like Deity Guns that seem to fit in the legacy so we could talk about those too I guess.

Seems like there were a few other National scenes around Europe of note that get eclipsed by the German scene. Italy, Denmark/Scandinavia, Turkey that may have threads up but this is mainly about France.

Ian Thompson posted a playlist related to the book on Spotify which is here
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2hMdyHPF5kuEBrJRcUmmvG?si=fafbb79f0f134e8d

website link https://french-underground.com/

Good stuff.

I have no idea if they fit, but I remember stumbling on Heldon and Bernard Szajner a while back, probably thanks to Youtube. They both sound like an odd mid-way point between Hawkwind, Magma, and the wiggier elements of Jean-Michel Jarre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDJ3zyqZMOI

Szajner was more contemporary with post-punk, though. He did a few tracks with Howard Devoto:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KChzzHF7tJs

And also invented the laser harp. The leader of Heldon had a PhD in Philosophy from the Sorbonne and Szajner made a concept album about the death penalty (he wasn't keen) so I imagine their political credentials are impeccable.

Heldon are in yes. Plus Richard Pinhas appears as somebody who played with Lard Free.

Thanks for this thread and telling us about the book. Here's an excerpt of something I wrote for the Voice in 2004:

"The rain won't let my tits grow. Napalm you're so
good in bed. How many flies ate you today? Let's get hungry tonight." That's
China whinin', like a siren, on "Suspenders in the Dark." She sings for Metal
Boys (recombinant shards of Parisian punk pioneers Metal Urbain) on 1980's Tokio
Airport. Now unearthed, and still flying together/apart on every track, Metal
Boys' sexelectric dragon's teeth gnaw and gnash at China's objet
d'amour-hate, "Tokio Airport": the place, the sign, the song, the other designee? "Technofasceest," she hisses, and drives desperate, new
unforgivable-synth stinky toys through "the anti-climax of X-mas Day," leaving
them stuck inside a harmonically ravenous mobile tagged "Carbone 14." Later, in
penance and/or celebration, China dances barefoot for a "Paranoia Carnival,"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmTk7xVFnsU

I read the Quietus review of this book, so I know that one of the figures discussed therein is Jean-Pierre Massiera, who I've been getting into very gradually...

I heard the Maledictus Sound album, which I only kinda like & which imo hasn't really aged all too well, but I'm a pretty big fan of his Visitors album from 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iES2mSKZuAw