Gerard Depardieu might be French, but last year he was involved in that old Hollywood classic – the DUI. Depardieu was found to be three times over the legal blood alcohol limit, when he fell off his scooter last year. In an extreme case of punishment fitting the crime, Depardieu has now been fined 4000 Euros ($5256) – you know, three times the legal limit, three times the fine, or something.

Still, he got off pretty easy, considering that the law in France envisions up to two years jail time for DUI cases with extremely high alcohol levels. Depardieu was not present in the courtroom to hear the verdict, The Guardian reports. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the incident, apart from the actor himself, who injured his elbow. That sounds like a pretty mild consequence of what could have been a very serious accident.

This isn’t the first time Depardieu has gotten in trouble with the law and his legal troubles usually involve some dramatic altercation. A few months prior, a taxi driver filed a lawsuit against the actor for assault and battery, while last year, he was arrested for urinating in the aisle of an Air France jet as it was taking off (we wish we were making this up). As recently as last year the actor criticised the Socialist government of François Hollande over high taxes, taking up President Vladimir Putin's offer of a Russian passport. The general takeaway here seems to be that Gerard Depardieu and the French legal system just do not get along.

Gerard Depardieu, June Project Set
Seen here on the set of June Project, Depardieu still finds time to work in between court dates.

Gerard Depardieu, June Project Set
Forget taxes, he now has 4000 Euros in fines to worry about.