French Polynesia's former transport minister, Bruno Marty, risks a jail sentence after alcohol blood tests revealed he was almost five times over the legal limit.
Mr Marty, who had been in charge of road safety, resigned after crashing his car and being taken to hospital nine days ago.
His resignation was first rejected by the president, Gaston Flosse, who defended him, saying he had worked long hours and didn't have a driver.
However, he changed his mind as media reports said Mr Marty had already accumulated three drink drive convictions - the last one in February.
The media reports say the last conviction meant that he lost his driver's licence but for reasons not explained it was only withdrawn last Wednesday.
