Gerard Depardieu looks to sell French chateaux

Actor Gerard Depardieu has said that he wants to sell all property that he owns in France, including his wine chateaux and restaurants, according to a report.

In an interview with a France’s TV Magazine, owned by Le Figaro newspaper, Gerard Depardieu was quoted as saying ‘I no longer want anything to do with this country, even if I still love the French’.

The 66-year-old actor emigrated from France in 2012 after president François Hollande introduced a 75 per cent wealth tax. He is reportedly now a Russian citizen and has registered for paying tax in the remote Russian republic of Mordovia, which has a tax rate of six per cent for entrepeneurs.

Depardieu owns a vineyard in the Loire Valley, Château de Tigné, and also has joint ventures with Bernard Magrez, including La Croix de Peyrolie in Lussac Saint Emilion and Le Bien Decidé in the Hérault, Languedoc. Among his restaurants are La Fontaine Gaillon and L’Ecaille de la Fontaine in Paris.

His reasons for selling were given in TV Magazine as an unhappiness with how taxes are spent across Europe. ‘I no longer want to own anything,’ he said, ‘just rent’.

Bernard Magrez told Decanter.com that he had not heard from Depardieu regarding any plans the actor may have to sell his 50% stake in their winemaking entities. ‘I read that in the paper like everyone else,’ Magrez added.

Separately, Magrez confirmed that he was in talks to buy another Bordeaux chateaux, but he did not say which one.