Many people have read or heard of "All is Quiet on the Western Front." Is there a similar famous work that provides the French perspective of the Great War? In addition are there any particularly noteworthy memoirs of French (or Allied) soldiers during WW1 that historians might recommend?
Under Fire was a novel written by the Frenchman Henri Barbusse, and was actually published during the War, in 1916. Under Fire is technically not a memoir, but rather, is a work of fiction, with an unnamed narrator. However, it is pretty clearly influenced by Barbusse's time on the frontline. Barbusse's political biases (he was a Communist) also can shine through, but overall it is a rather short read that is definitely quite interesting. Regardless of how true the events in Under Fire actually are, the stories in it do lineup with accounts of the Great War that I've read from British and German sources and if nothing else the novel itself is worth reading because it is such an anomaly, being an anti-war novel published as the War was still going on. Basically, it shouldn't be taken as straight history, but it is of historical value.
You could try Charles Carrington's A Subaltern's War or Guy Chapman's A Passionate Prodigality or Robert Graves Goodnight To All That.
I'm afraid these are British (and may be hard to come by), I don't know of any French ones.
Also, since its the centenary, quite a lot of diaries have been uploaded to sites like this, some of which are quite interesting:
http://firstworldwar.com/diaries/index.htm
As to Remarque - Its worth bearing in mind that Remarque was a sapper and only saw a couple of weeks action on the front.
All is Quiet on the Western Front is by no means a memoir or a biography, it is a novel and an anti-war polemic.
Its worth contrasting Remarque with the books of actual "front line" soldiers who served in the German army for most of the war - Rommel's Infantry Attacks and Ernst Junger's Storm of Steel are good examples and quite readily available.
Bon Chance.
I really enjoyed [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Poilu-Notebooks-Corporal-Barrelmaker-1914-1918/dp/0300191596). Read a Dutch translation about 10 years ago but i am reading it again.
Louis Barthas, the writer, was called up in 1914 and survived the entire war. He fought at Verdun, the Somme, Champagne and The Argonne.
Anyway, great read. The reviews on amazon should tell you enough.