Rama Yade told to 'shut your gob or quit' French government

Cabinet ministers have branded Miss Yade, 32, a "spoiled child" and she now faces being ousted in a reshuffle.

The outspoken, Senegalese-born politician – once hailed by the president as France's Condoleezza Rice, the former black American secretary of state – has been frozen out of the cabinet for serial insubordination.

Miss Yade now faces going the same way as Rachida Dati, the other star symbol of Mr Sarkozy's politically and ethnically diverse "rainbow" cabinet.

She has barely spoken to the president in months, while François Fillon, the prime minister, fuelled speculation she is on the way out by coldly telling colleagues: "We will have to draw the consequences when the time comes."

Christine Lagarde, the finance minister, was slightly warmer. "You have to learn the rules of the game. When you're young it's sometimes a bit harder. Sometimes you need an older brother or an older sister to remind you of the rules," she said.

The junior sports minister has survived several run-ins with Mr Sarkozy. She first invoked his wrath in 2007 by condemning a Paris visit by Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader. France, she said, must never be a "doormat" on which dictators wipe the blood of their crimes.

Mr Sarkozy forgave her and she placated him after another skirmish by sending him heart-shaped chocolates.

But her most serious recent criticism may prove the last straw. Two weeks ago she broke ranks in a nepotism scandal in which Mr Sarkozy sought to have his son Jean, 23, a law student, run the body managing La Défense, the business district west of Paris.

"We must not give the impression that there is a gap between the protected elites and the little people," Miss Yade warned. Most of France agreed but Mr Sarkozy was furious, exclaiming: "This is too much!" He dispatched his chief of staff to severely reprimand her. Jean has since renounced the top La Défense job, but was elected to the board.

Mr Sarkozy – said to be as distressed by the scandal as when his second wife left him – immediately punished Miss Yade by ordering her to abandon her seat in the Hauts-de-Seine area west of Paris, where Jean is a councillor.

Instead he wants her to stand as the No 2 on his centre-right UMP list in the northern Val-d'Oise suburb in the regional elections in March.

Miss Yade protested and has since sparked more irritation by criticising a government-backed parliamentary amendment to end a generous tax break for sports professionals.

Nadine Morano, the junior minister for family affairs, told her: "If you don't agree with government policies, you should shut your gob or resign."

Miss Yade said she would not "stoop so low" as to respond but one minister claimed "many" would like to see her sacked and replaced by David Douillet, a former Olympic judo champion, after regional elections.

Despite the friendly fire, Mr Sarkozy can ill-afford to lose his most popular government figure: on Tuesday, a poll suggested he had a 39-per cent approval rating – the lowest since he took office. His core conservative electorate are appalled at a string of scandals while he faced a mini-party revolt this week when two dozen UMP senators refused to vote for plans to scrap a local business tax.

One Elysée source yesterday insisted Miss Yade's departure was not "the order of the day." Jean-Pierre Grand, a right-wing MP, said her "days are indeed numbered" but that Mr Sarkozy was in a bind: "They've made Rama Yade an icon; it's an incredible political blunder. Now they can't get around her."