Francois Hollande is facing fresh embarrassment as two of his ministers have defied his advice to take austerity-driven "staycations", instead enjoying luxury New Year's breaks abroad, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Hollande, who has been eager to make a firm break with the "bling" presidency of his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, urged all his ministers to set an example to French citizens feeling the economic squeeze by taking their holidays in France.
He demanded that his cabinet remain "alert and ready" even when off duty, and are never more than a two-hour flight from Paris.
But Laurent Fabius, his 66-year-old foreign minister, ignored his instructions and instead flew off 4,000 miles away for for a four-day trip to the tropical Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, according to Le Parisien newspaper.
Aurelie Filippetti, his culture minister, also enjoyed a Christmas break on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
Mr Fabius's office defended by the trip by insisting that he is used to working from abroad.
"Laurent Fabius spends four days a week overseas as part of his job," a foreign ministry spokesman said. "He is used to working from a distance.
"And we believe that he did inform the president of where he was going before he left."
Read more of this report from The Daily Telegraph.