Gerard Depardieu a court no-show

Paris - A lawyer for Gerard Depardieu says the actor again couldn't make it in court to face drunken driving charges.

Defence attorney Eric de Caumont says Depardieu was too busy filming a movie in the United States about another Frenchman known for run-ins with the law: former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

A Paris criminal court on Friday could take exception to Depardieu's second straight no-show over the harmless incident in November when he toppled over on his scooter in Paris and was charged with drunken driving.

Depardieu - possibly France's best-known movie star, for roles in some 150 films such as Green Card - had already skipped out in January on a previous summons to appear.

He has threatened to renounce his French citizenship, and has become a Russian citizen.