La Rochelle, on France's Atlantic coast, is known not only for its beautiful port and red-roofed homes, but also for Francofolies, a giant festival devoted to Francophone music. Last night, the event paid its first visit to America, dropping by the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side for a special star-studded tribute to Édith Piaf, whose last name was spelled out over the stage of the grand Deco temple in giant vermilion letters. Throughout the night, the audience was treated to a fascinating barrage of Piaf photos and footage that occasionally distracted from the performances. The French music legend Charles Aznavour, who was supposed to host, had to drop out (as did Marianne Faithfull), so the wiseacre young French actor François-Xavier Demaison M.C."d instead, showing a knack for impressions of Americans, including adenoidal teens ("Oh my God, it's so amazing!") and deep-voiced movie-trailer narrators ("In a world without fear ..."). Harry Connick Jr. proved considerably less adept at mastering the contours of French, delivering a stiff "La Vie en Rose." But Beth Ditto of the indie band Gossip brought a delightful jolt of energy with her supercharged version of "L'Homme à la Moto." Desolé pour mon français! ("I'm sorry for my French!"), she kept saying. Christophe Willem, the tall, bespectacled former winner of France's version of "American Idol," brought another shot of excitement with a strong, reedy rendition of "Mon Dieu" that preserved the original pronouns, making it a song by a man about a man. The Benin-born singer Angelique Kidjo was the final solo act. Statuesque in a red print head wrap and long black dress, she sang "Johnny, tu n'es pas un ange" with an unfussy sass, accompanied by a rhythm guitarist who gave the song an Afrobeat vibe, suggesting the possibilities of Piaf if more interpreters would think outside of the French chanson box. Finally, all the performers gathered for a cheesy but fun reprise of "La Vie en Rose" (except Connick, who'd apparently fled the theater), during which everyone seemed to loosen up. Ditto, who clung coquettishly to Demaison and Willem, seemed loath to leave the stage. In Piaf, she appeared to have found a spiritual forbear.