Naceri punished in chase, assault
May 21, 2003 - The Hollywood Reporter
PARIS—In a scenario reminiscent of the popular French “Taxi” films he stars in, actor Sami Naceri has temporarily lost his driver’s license and faces an eight-month suspended prison sentence, a two-year suspension of his license and a fine of 4,000€ ($4,700) as a result of a high-speed car chase.
Naceri, who appeared in a Parisian court Monday, reportedly mistook a group of Polish tourists in a Volvo for paparazzi after leaving a nightclub in October 2000 and engaged in a high-speed chase with them. He then forced them to pull over in the median of the Paris ring road. Naceri broke the driver’s window and chased the three fleeing occupants on foot, demanding their papers. Returning to their car, they damaged Naceri’s BMW 4x4 as the chase resumed, this time resulting in Naceri forcing the trio to pull over at a rotary, where he assaulted the 22-year-old driver.
Naceri, who testified to drinking “only three or four whiskies” at a Paris nightclub, refused a Breathalyzer test at the police station.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 16.
This was not the actor’s first run-in with the law; in May 2001, Naceri received a three-month suspended prison sentence and had to pay more than $9,100 in damages and court fees as the result of an “air rage” incident in October 2000. On a Paris-to-Montreal flight, Naceri, who was outraged for not being moved up to first class with actors Mathieu Kassovitz and Jean Reno, verbally assaulted the stewardess, resulting in one of the flight crew leaving the cockpit to subdue him (HR 5/31/01).
Naceri previously has been convicted of driving while under the influence.