Free Republic

By now you've probably heard Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed Russian citizenship upon Gérard Depardieu as part of the French actor's quest to seek refuge from his country's onerous income taxes. It's a pretty funny situation. But French President Francois Hollande is not laughing. Because after all the fuss, the 75 percent marginal income tax that was the highlight of the new taxes which Depardieu and others were attempting to flee was ultimately vetoed by the country's Constitutional Council. The ruling came on technical grounds, and the government has vowed to resubmit a similar proposal. But the project has...

Gérard Depardieu has said he is handing back his French passport and social security card, lambasting the French government for punishing "success, creation, talent" in his homeland. A popular and colourful figure in France, the 63-year-old actor is the latest wealthy Frenchman to seek shelter outside his native country by buying a house just over the border in Belgium in response to tax increases by the Socialist president, François Hollande. The prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, described Depardieu's behaviour as pathetic and unpatriotic at a time when the French are being asked to pay higher taxes to reduce a bloated national...

Gérard Depardieu took his reputation as a bon viveur to the limit this week in an apparently drunken outburst on national television. Giving what was arguably his best on-screen performance in some time, the 56-year-old appeared on this week's edition of the cultural talk show Ça balance à Paris to promote his new cookery book, Ma cuisine. Apparently angered by a criticism of the book from fellow guest and journalist Martin Monestier, Depardieu launched into a vicious verbal attack, repeatedly calling Monestier "un abruti" (a prat). Monestier responded with good humour, saying, "You're quite right, it's good to get things...