Edouard Philippe, Emmanuel Macron’s righthand man, opted to spend the vast sum to fly him and his 60-strong entourage on a luxurious private Airbus flight from Tokyo back to Paris, rather than use an “uncomfortable” Air Force Airbus.
The almost empty 375-seat Air Force transport, which flew the prime minister’s party from Nouméa to Tokyo, landed back in the French capital two hours later.
Mr Philippe defended his decision, claiming it was essential to take the private jet because it was faster.
He told RTL radio: “It’s complicated to move the prime minister around and it’s expensive.
“I totally understand both the surprise and the questions that French people are asking themselves – I take responsibility to such an extent that I want to explain it.
“We knew there was no commercial flight at the time we needed to return, and we knew we had to return because the president was leaving on the Wednesday morning for Algeria.”
French law dictates the prime minister must be in France while the president is abroad.
Mr Philippe’s former party, Les Republicains, said that the costly flight was “proof of the disconnection between the ruling powers and the people… who say, ‘we can’t be living in the same world’.”
Mr Macron’s election campaign was built on a pledge to end the liberal spending of France’s ruling elite, but his fledging presidency has so far shown no signs of a change in policy.
The news comes just days after President Macron was condemned for celebrating his 40th birthday at the lavish Château de Chambord, a 440-room palace south of Paris.
His team pointed out that Mr and Mrs Macron paid for their birthday weekend on the Loire out of their own pockets and that they had stayed in an inn on the chateau grounds, but the 40-year-old is still struggling to shake off the “president of the rich” tag his critics have bestowed on him.
Macron has penchant for showy surroundings, indicated by his decision to stage a solitary promenade on his election night while visits from foreign leaders have seen the President pull out all the stops to impress.