Serge Gainsbourg impersonator on trial for stabbing Johnny Hallyday lookalike rival

The village fete circuit of the Vosges in north eastern France has been shaken by the start of the trial for attempted murder of an impersonator of the rock-provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg, who allegedly tried to stab to death his rival, a lookalike of the ageing French Elvis, Johnny Hallyday. The two men, who regularly channelled France's greatest rock gods at local talent contests, had known each other for decades.

But their competitiveness had allegedly got the better of them as they neared middle-age, regularly descending into verbal spats and insults. Denis Colnot, 48, had devoted his life to impersonating Gainsbourg, the libidinous, chain-smoking poet-provocateur. Michel Pacchiana, alias Johnny Riviera, 52, would regularly compete against him in front of the amateur judges by impersonating Hallyday, the American-style, rugged French rocker who has sold more than 100 million albums.



But what local media politely called their "artistic rivalry" on the amateur circuit apparently reached a bloody climax in July 2011. Pacchiana, confident of being top dog on the lookalike circuit, was mowing the lawn in a block of flats in the working-class neighbourhood of Epinal, where they both lived. Colnot hung out of the window, made a comment, and soon the insults were flying, allegedly culminating in Pacchiana accusing his enemy of living on benefits. Colnot is alleged to have taken a kitchen-knife and planted it in Pacchiana's neck, narrowly missing a major artery that would have killed him.

"It's a miracle I'm alive, I thought I was going to join my mother in heaven," Pacchiana said. It is reported that Pacchiana thought that Colnot had gone for his vocal chords in order to eliminate him from the competition circuit. "That guy is bitter, all he dreams of is taking the place of Johnny Riviera, the place of number one." He said: "I won the last two competitions we competed in. He was fuming. Me, when I sing Johnny I transform myself into a true animal on stage. But Denis Colnot just stays static when he's playing Gainsbourg." In court, Colnot's lawyer said "he never intended to kill". He had reportedly told investigators he couldn't bear any more of Pacchiana's humiliations. He faces up to 30 years in prison. A verdict is expected on Monday.