Drunk Depardieu falls off scooter

ACTOR Gérard Depardieu ended up in a police cell yesterday after falling off his scooter having drunk almost four times the legal limit.

Depardieu fell off in Paris’s 17th arrondissement at around 15.45 and grazed his elbow. He reportedly refused to blow into the breathalyser when police arrived but then agreed, showing a level of 1.8g of alcohol in the blood, the legal limit being 0.5.

Drink driving with over 0.8g of alcohol carries a maximum penalty of a €4,500 fine, two years’ prison and a loss of six licence points. The driver’s licence may also be suspended or cancelled.

Depardieu was taken back to the police station where he was held in custody while he sobered up with sandwiches and a lot of water, said Europe 1.

He was not seen to leave the station, but is thought to have made a discreet exit in a breakdown vehicle that was carrying his scooter.

The incident adds to the actor’s growing reputation for antisocial behaviour – in the summer he was involved in a road rage incident when he is alleged to have attacked a motorist, and last year he caused a fuss by accidentally urinating on the floor of a plane while trying to do so into a bottle because the toilet was in use.

Photo: Georges Biard/ Wimimedia Commons