The 'Asterix and Obelix' actor has to pay a 4,000 euro fine and has his driving license suspended for six months.
- Jun 22, 2013
AceShowbiz - Gerard Depardieu gets sentenced after being arrested last fall for scooter drunk-driving in Paris. The French actor was ordered to pay 4,000 euro ($5,290) in fines and was temporarily banned from driving as his license was suspended for six months.
The "Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia" actor could face up to two years in prison for such offense, but prosecutors decided not to call for jail time. He has been filming a movie in Russia and was sentenced in absentia by a Judge Friday, June 21 after repeatedly skipping court appearances.
"I will inform Gerard Depardieu of the ruling in the coming hours and will see him next week in Moscow, where he is shooting a film," his lawyer Eric de Caumont said after hearing the verdict.
Depardieu was taken into custody last November after falling from the scooter he was riding. A test revealed that his blood-alcohol level was more than three times over the legal limit. He injured his elbow in the accident.
It was not the first time Depardieu was involved in a transportation incident. In August 2011, the "Jean de Florette" actor angered Air France flight passengers after he urinated in the aisle of the plane. The incident forced the plane to head back to its parking spot. At the time, he was also allegedly intoxicated.
The "Life of Pi" actor also made headlines for publicly vowing to give up his French citizenship in a protest over the country's tax hike on the rich. He was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin, but Russia was not the only country he considered as his destination if he really decided to quit his homeland.
The 64-year-old star, who was a Chevalier recipient of France's Legion d'honneur, once said he's also thinking about living in Belgium where he had bought a house across the border, or moving to Montenegro where he has a business there.
