Pursuits

Depardieu Will Give Up French Citizenship Over Taxes

Actor Gérard Depardieu attends the “Mammuth” press conference during day nine of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in 2010Photograph by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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Gérard Depardieu has landed a starring role in a real-life political drama that has sparked furious debate among his countrymen.

It started last week when France’s best-known living actor announced he was moving to Belgium to escape high taxes, including a new 75 percent income tax rate that the Socialist government is imposing on the rich. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault promptly denounced Depardieu’s decision as “pathetic.”