Gilbert Montagné will not like it… Justice has delivered its verdict after a long dispute: according to media information The Informed on December 12, the singer and his lyricist Didier Barbelivien actually plagiarized the 1976 song by Italian singer Gianni Nazzaro, “Une fille de France” with “On va s'aimer”, a song that became a hit upon its release in 1984 They thus lose their royalties on the title.
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It all started in 2012, when Gianni Nazzaro filed a complaint against the French singer and his lyricist, accusing them of plagiarism. Italian justice ruled in his favor. But neither Gilbert Montagné nor Didier Barbelivien wanted to give up. Supported by Sacem, according to RTL, they refused to pay the copyright of the title to Michel Cywie and Jean-Max Rivière, the French authors of Nazzaro's song.
Gilbert Montagné even went so far, recalls BFMTV, as to sue for… plagiarism the fast food chain Flunch which had used “his” song “On va s'aimer” to divert it into an advertising refrain “On va fluncher” in the 1990s.
“We are going to love each other”, a financial windfall
The authors of this song, which Gianni Nazzaro performed in French, have again taken the matter to Italian justice. They claimed 1.67 million euros in damages. Let us remember that “We are going to love each other”, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, is a financial windfall. The song, which launched Gilbert Montagné's career, went gold, with more than 700,000 copies sold.
Italian justice rendered its decision on October 9, 2024. It blocked the royalties of Gilbert Montagné and Didier Barbelivien by also taking legal action against their publishing companies and Sacem.
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Answer
Gilbert Montagné, 72, and Didier Barbelivien, 70, are ordered to pay 30,000 euros in damages to the heirs of the Italian singer, who died in 2021, at the age of 72, of lung cancer. And, above all, they must give up all their royalties on this emblematic title.
The two artists can appeal to the Court of Cassation, but the blocking of rights is not suspended. It is not specified whether Gilbert Montagné, who won his case against Flunch and received 30,000 euros in damages, will also have to return these rights to their legitimate owners.
