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Gérard Depardieu, a French actor, was accused of rape and sexual assault by a woman to whom he was said to be offering professional guidance. A unnamed woman, aged 22, filed a criminal complaint against Depardieu, 69, claiming he sexually assaulted her on August 7 and August 13, Holland-based news agency BNO News reports, citing French officials and sources speaking to Le Parisien newspaper. “I regret the public nature of this process which poses a major prejudice to Gerard Depardieu, whose innocence I am convinced will be [recognized],” Depardieu’s lawyer Herve Termime told AFP News. The lawyer noted that Depardieu...

Remember the saga of Gerard Depardieu, the wealthy and much-maligned French actor who had the nerve to seek residence (and, presumably, a lower tax burden) elsewhere? French Socialist politicians flipped their lids when the well-known actor headed for the exits, and even though he hasn’t completely renounced his French citizenship, the actor was pretty clear in a recent interview that nobody has succeeded in guilt-tripping him into backing down. Via The Independent: In his first lengthy press interview since he announced six months ago that he was “sending back” his French passport, Mr Depardieu said he now saw himself as...

If people like Paul Krugman get their way, we will be having this debate in America too.And actually, it’s not much of a debate. One of the benefits of being free is you get to go wherever you want without government interference. Evidently in France, this freedom may be in jeopardy as some wealthy citizens, refusing to give the government 75% of their income, have fled France for friendlier climes. Actor Gerard Depardieu is only the most visible individual to choose to leave. The mini-exodus has sparked a fierce debate involving “greed,” “patriotism,” and “solidarity.” Some have even questioned...

French actor Gerard Depardieu says he is handing back his French passport after the prime minister criticised him for moving to Belgium to avoid taxes. In a letter to a newspaper he lambasted the French government for punishing "success, creation and talent". Last week the 63-year-old actor announced he was moving to the small Belgian town of Nechin just over the French border. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault described the decision as "shabby". Next year, the top rate of income tax in France is due to become 75% on earnings above 1m euros. It is currently 50% in Belgium. "I...

PARIS (Reuters) - Actor Gerard Depardieu has become the latest Frenchman to look for shelter outside his native country after a series of tax hikes by Socialist President Francois Hollande on the wealthy. The "Cyrano de Bergerac" star has bought a house in the Belgian village of Nechin near the French border, local mayor Daniel Senesael told French media on Sunday, adding he had also enquired about procedures for acquiring Belgian residency. ... "I think he wanted to enjoy the atmosphere in Belgium, our identity, the rural, bucolic setting," Senesael told RTL radio. For Depardieu, best known for his roles...

(This was too funny to pass....) French film star Gérard Depardieu just couldn’t wait any longer, or didn’t want to. While waiting for takeoff aboard a delayed flight from Paris to Dublin last night, the 62-year-old actor apparently needed to use the bathroom, but the plane’s crew wouldn’t let him. As a result, Depardieu decided to relieve himself right there in the plane’s cabin, much to the dismay of other passengers. Fox News reports that one of the passengers who witnessed the incident, Daniele, spoke to a French radio station about Depardieu’s antics. After Derpardieu supposedly announced “Je veux pisser,...

A race row has broken out in France after white Hollywood star Gerard Depardieu darkened his skin and wore a black wig to play mixed race author Alexandre Dumas. Depardieu, who is well known to British audiences for his award-winning performances in Cyrano de Bergerac and Green Card, is naturally blonde and blue-eyed. He looks nothing like Dumas, who wrote The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo in the 19th Century. Yet the producers of 'L'Autre Dumas' (The Other Dumas), which opened in Paris last week, seem to think a big-name white actor would attract more viewers than...

PARIS (Reuters) - Actor Gerard Depardieu is ending his film career, a newspaper quoted the popular Frenchman as saying on Sunday. "I have nothing to lose. I have made 170 films. I have nothing left to prove. I am not going to hang on like an idiot," Depardieu, one of France's best known actors at home and abroad, was quoted as saying by Le Parisien Dimanche newspaper. "I'm in the process of stopping filming," said the portly star of films such as "Cyrano de Bergerac," "Green Card" and "Jean de Florette." Depardieu, 56, made the comments on the set of...