Sarkozy message to ministers

NO FANCY holidays, stay contactable 24-hours a day and never be more than two hour’s flight from Paris, was the message from President Sarkozy to ministers at their last meeting before the summer break.

Sarkozy, just out of hospital following a health scare while out jogging, will be spending the summer at Carla Bruni’s family villa at Cap Nègre in the Var - avoiding the official presidential residence of Brégançon just up the road.

Prime Minister François Fillon will be heading to Tuscany, while the Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux will stay in the Auvergne.

Several ministers will be heading to the south of France including Justice Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie (Dordogne and the Mediterranean) and Economy Minister Christine Lagarde (diving in the Mediterranean).

Budget Minister Eric Woerth and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will be heading to Corsica.

Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand has not released his holiday plans claiming "respect for his private life" while Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot is remaining close to Paris in case of any problems with the spread of swine flu.

Photo: The presidential resident Fort Brégançon