The vessel costs Lm 85,858 (€200,000) a week to hire reported France’s LCI television. Mr Sarkozy arrived in Malta on a private jet on Monday at around 1445CET and boarded the yacht at around 1530CET with his wife Cecilia and 10-year-old son Louis. He leaves the island on Wednesday.  

In an interview last week Mr Sarkozy said that if he won the election he would go into retreat "in order to immerse myself in the office, take the measure of the heavy responsibilities that will weigh on my shoulders, and rest after the clamour of the campaign", but critics said it clashed with his campaign concerns over low living standards of French households.

According to GulfNews.com, Patrick Menucci, a former advisor to defeated Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal said "It sends a disastrous signal to the country, notably the 53% of French people who earn less than €800 (Lm 344) a month and who voted for him." 

It has been said that the yacht belongs to billionaire industrialist and businessman Vincent Bolloré, a friend of the President-elect. However, this was not confirmed by Mr Sarkozy's aides.