Gérard Depardieu: ‘I want to sell up in France’

The fact that Depardieu is no fan of France is nothing new.

In 2012 the French tax exile famously quit the country to become a tax resident of Belgium, a move that was judged as “pathetic” by the then French PM Jean-Marc Ayrault.

And in January 2013 the Russian President handed the French actor a Russian passport, which was warmly accepted.

But in his latest interview with the Le Figaro's TV Mag on his new role in the Netflix series Marseille and appearance in the film Capitaine Marleau earlier this year, the actor suggested he wanted to sever all ties with the country completely.

“…I think I want to sell everything in France!” he was quoted as saying. “I don’t want to be a part of this country anymore, even though I love the French…

“Since the government condemned me, nothing!” he continued. “I was no longer there! It’s surprising, but, saying that, I don’t care.”

Depardieu is still the owner of the Tigné château in the Loire Valley and several restaurants, including La Fontaine Gaillon in Paris’s 2nd arrondissement.

The French actor is currently registered as living in the town of Saransk, with his address listed as No. 1, Democracy Street.

He has also frequently spoken out in support of the Russian president and has angered Ukrainian leaders with some of his comments at the height of the ongoing conflict in the east of the country.

In July, Depardieu was added to a black list in Ukraine, which features the names of 600 people judged “a threat to national security”.

The actor is pretty much blacklisted in France too although he might not be quite judged a threat to national security just yet.

He has frequently tried to wind up the French government by claiming he “was proud to be Russian” and calling France a “sad” place led by an uninspired government where people are “fed up”.