Depardieu kisses French passport goodbye
2012-12-16 20:25
Paris - A French newspaper is quoting actor Gerard Depardieu as saying he is turning in his passport after insults from France's Socialist prime minister for taking up residence in tax-friendly Belgium.
The Sunday weekly Le Journal du Dimanche published an open letter attributed to Depardieu in which the actor chides Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault for calling him "pathetic" and "unpatriotic" last week for moving to Belgium to escape French taxes.
"I leave after paying 85% of my revenue in 2012," the letter says. "I turn into you my passport and [my] social security card which I have never used."
Depardieu, who turns 64 this month, has made more than 100 films.
The Belgian village of Nechin - Depardieu's new home - has drawn other high-earning French residents.