French star Deneuve defends Depardieu in tax exile row

Veteran French actress Catherine Deneuve launched a strong defence of Gerard Depardieu on Friday, calling a virulent critic of her fellow thespian’s bid for tax exile a petty-minded pygmy.

Deneuve’s defence came after the reclusive French film legend Brigitte Bardot castigated attacks on a man who is arguably France’s leading actor with roles in nearly 170 films.

The hulking 64-year-old star’s move to Belgium has been derided as “pathetic” by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault while another top French actor, Philippe Torreton, publicly accused him of sulking like a playground creep.

Deneuve, a chiselled blonde actress whose career spans nearly a half-century, questioned Torrenton’s credentials to attack a giant of French cinema in an open letter in the left-wing Liberation daily .

She told Torrenton her “anger was borne of your hasty judgments made without thinking and this pettiness,” adding: “You take aim at his physique! At his talent!

“‘This mess’ that you speak of. What right, what democratic motive do you claim as your dirty condemnation?”

Torrenton had in a vitriolic attack on Tuesday accused Depardieu of being an outspoken, money-obsessed lout with “dictator friends.”