A French court has fined Gerard Depardieu €4,000 and suspended his driver’s licence for six months in a drink-driving case that started when the actor fell off his scooter in Paris in November and ended up being taken to a police station.

French film star Gerard Depardieu failed to show up in court to face drink-driving charges because he was preparing to play disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a film, his lawyer said.

French actor Gerard Depardieu will not turn up at a Paris court to face charges of drink-driving, his lawyer said today.