Melissa George is facing kidnapping charges in France after attempting to board a flight to the US with her two sons, Raphael, 3, and Solal, one.
She’s currently in the midst of a nasty custody battle with their father, entrepreneur Jean-David Blanc, who she met at a BAFTA party in 2012.
George and Blanc’s relationship ended in September 2016 after both filed assault charges against the other.
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Six days after the assault, George boarded a private jet bound for the US with her two children, but was escorted off the plane by French border police, The Telegraph reports.
Blanc has now pressed charges for attempted kidnapping, as the pair have a joint custody arrangement in which neither are allowed to take the children overseas without written consent.
George’s lawyer, Christophe Ayela, told The Telegraph that the trip was pre-arranged and not undertaken in secret. “There was no kidnapping attempt,” Ayela said. “Ms George did not know that there was a legal travel ban placed on the children.”
Ayela went onto criticise the custody arrangement, which requires the children to spend alternating weeks with their mother and father. “It’s terrible for her career, disastrous,” Ayela told media.
“How can she be back to France every second week if she works abroad? It’s a ridiculous decision.”