Gerard Depardieu, perhaps the most famous French actor outside of France and known for films other than Asterix and Obelix, has abandoned France for Russia due to the French President Francois Hollande’s soviet-style tax tyranny which attempts to punish the rich into submission.

Little did King Hollande know when planning a horrendous 75% tax on those earning more than a million per annum that the French royalty comprised of actors and designers would depart France in flock in favor of greener pastures (pun very much intended). One can’t make the argument that Russia is green like the US, but it certainly has more going for it in terms of income taxation. I wonder if Mr. Depardieu might end up regretting his decision to leave the beaches of Nice for the harsh Siberian winters.

However, if fleeing celebrities are any indication, France will soon become the home for the poor and the wretched.