François Hollande's disastrously poor public image has taken another blow with the publication of the French president kitted out in a traditional Kazakh fur hat and coat that sparked a wave of derision on social media, reports The Telegraph.
The photo was posted on the Kazakh president's official Instagram page on Friday but quickly removed at the request of irked Elysée officials.
They had insisted that no photos be taken of the French leader in the costume given as a gift by his Kazakh counterpart during a trip to the central Asian state.
But it was in the public domain for long enough to unleash a torrent of mockery on Twitter, with one user, @HdmilesD, retweeting it and asking "Has the president finally admitted that he is the leader of the communist republic of France?"
Others tweeted that he bore resemblance to the Sacha Baron Cohen character 'Borat'.
The Socialist leader, the most unpopular French president in modern history, has faced embarrassment from a series of photos over the past year and a half.