SPARE a thought — and perhaps a euro — for the poor French politician. No more taxpayer-funded Cuban cigars, private jets, or even luxury hotels. And, if Nicolas Sarkozy has his way, no more overstaffed offices and unfettered use of the ministry photocopier.

Having cancelled the Élysée palace summer garden party, the French president has decided everyone else must “make an effort” to tighten their professional belts.

Anxious to be seen wielding the austerity axe following a spate of scandals over official perks, not to mention a ballooning public deficit, he is demanding ministers' spending be “vigorously reduced”.

Ministers have been told their official visits will be “strictly curtailed” and they will be encouraged to take the train, not the plane, with a reduced retinue of advisers. Away from home they must only stay in a hotel if there are no bedrooms available in state-owned buildings, such as embassies and consulates.

The order came in a letter to the prime minister, Francois Fillon, in which Sarkozy warned that those defying his austerity measures would face “punishment”.

The president also declared he was doing away with 10,000 government vehicles and 7,000 official lodgings used by ministers, officials and state employees.

These do not include the presidential weekend retreat at Versailles or the state's seaside digs at Fort Bregancon in Provence or the traditional summer residence, the Chateau de Rambouillet, in Ile-de-France. Nor will Sarkozy be giving up his trips by plane, helicopter, or the specially adapted Airbus A330, recently acquired at a cost of 180 million euros.

The crackdown comes after a series of embarrassing revelations over perks involving several government members. Christian Blanc, a junior minister for the Paris region, was recently ordered to repay the 12,000 euros he spent on cigars and charged to the state. Alain Joyandet, another junior minister, hired a private jet for an official trip to the French overseas department of Martinique for 116,500 euros and was alleged to have broken local planning rules to obtain permission to extend his Saint-Tropez holiday home.

The sports minister, Rama Yade, criticised the French football team for living it up in a five-star hotel during the World Cup, while she was booked with five of her staff into an even more expensive hotel in South Africa. When this became public she stayed at the French consulate instead.

— The Guardian, London