法总统要求官员在国内度假

国总理和外长日前陷入北非国家免费度假丑闻，致使萨科奇政敌借机对其提出批评。为了避免类似事件，法国总统萨科齐要求内阁部长们在国内度假。萨科齐在内阁会议上称：“从现在开始，政府官员最好在法国国内度假。接受外国邀请需获得总理和总统外交团队的授权，以评估是否符合法国的外交政策。”不过，此次会议并未提及这项规定是否对总统本人有约束力。

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered his ministers to stay in France on holiday to avoid diplomatic gaffes after scandals over hospitality from  North African leaders.

Sarkozy bowed to criticism from rivals after embarrassing revelations that his prime minister and foreign minister accepted free holiday flights in Egypt and Tunisia, shortly before popular uprisings in both countries.

"From now on, members of the government must prefer France for their holidays," President Nicolas Sarkozy told a cabinet meeting, according to a transcript released by his office.

"It is imperative that we promote the spread of a true culture of ethics in French public life," Sarkozy said, in a statement that appeared to acknowledge a shift away from a traditional deference to French leaders.

"What was common a few years ago can shock nowadays. So it must be strictly monitored," Sarkozy said. "Citizens' expectations are higher and they are legitimate."

Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Tuesday admitted that he had a New Year family holiday on the Nile paid for by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie had faced calls to resign after she admitted using a private plane owned by a Tunisian businessman who was alleged to have ties to the regime of the country's ousted dictator.

Under the new rules for ministers, "invitations accepted abroad will be authorised by the prime minister and the presidential diplomatic unit... to see whether they are compatible with France's foreign policy," Sarkozy said.

It made no mention of whether the rules would also apply to the French president.

Some government allies had rejected the uproar by their opponents over the holidays, but Tuesday's revelation by Fillon raised broader laments over government ethics.

"A minister sees nothing abnormal in using an oligarch's plane or having his holidays paid for by a dictator. That's the most serious thing," Jean-Louis Roumegas, spokesman for the minority green coalition, said in a statement.

"The crumbling of the public spirit has reached the very top of the state," said Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Socialist parliamentary leader who had led calls for Alliot-Marie to resign. He called for a law to curb conflicts of interest.

Fillon promptly told the cabinet that such a bill would be "in the coming weeks," a government statement said after the meeting. "The prevention of conflicts of interest will be strengthened."