Drunk driving costs Depardieu his licence

Paris - A Paris court on Friday fined actor Gerard Depardieu €4 000 (about R54 000) for drink driving and withdrew his driver's licence for six months.

The charges related to an accident in November in Paris.

Depardieu, who told a French newspaper last week his drinking was "part of his outrageousness," was detained by police after crashing his scooter.

No one was injured in the incident, but Depardieu's blood alcohol level was found to be over three times the legal limit.

Back in the headlines

A month later, he was back in the headlines after becoming embroiled in a row with the French government over taxes.

The row culminated with the 64-year-old star of Cyrano de Bergerac and the Asterix and Obelix films accepting a Russian passport from President Vladimir Putin.

In last week's interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, Depardieu described himself as a "Franco-Russian" actor and "citizen of the world."

"I have seven passports from several countries that I love. Well, I will have seven. Moreover, I will request one from Algeria," he said.