What started as an almost comedy spat between France’s most famous living actor Gerard Depardieu (Green Card, Cyrano de Bergerac) and a French minister turned into a more serious political issue. Depardieu, affectionately known as Gégé said he was going to leave France and he was fairly vocal in his opinions about President Hollande’s proposal to increase taxes against the rich. This made some people very angry and a French minister called Depardieu “shabby… pathetic… unpatriotic”.
Gégé retaliated with a rather well-written open letter to Le Journal du Dimanche. In it he stated that he had paid €145 million in tax over the years, employed lots of people, loves his country and does not deserve to be denigrated by the French Government.
There were reports he would move to Belgium but then President Putin of Russia signed a document authorising Gégé’s Russian citizenship. Oh la la.
Then Brigitte Bardot also announced she was considering leaving France and moving to Russia. This time nothing to do with being called names by Government ministers. The ex-movie star goddess is well known as an animal rights activist and was raging that two elephants at Lyon Zoo were to be put down after contracting Tuberculosis.
BB was quoted as saying “If the powers that be have the cowardice and the shamelessness to kill [elephants] Baby and Nepal, I have decided to take Russian nationality and quit this country that is nothing more an animal cemetery.”
I must say, it’s something I love about the French. They do like to put their money where their mouth is. They don’t mind kicking up a rumpus in public. And if they believe something is wrong they shout it from the rooftops so we can all have our opinion too…
A bientôt Janine
