French environment minister quits live on radio, saying he was ‘alone’ on green issues in Macron’s government

A range of international outlets reports on the news that France’s environment minister Nicolas Hulot resigned live on the radio on Tuesday – taking broadcasters and the French President Emmanuel Macron by surprise.

“I am taking the decision to leave the government,” Hulot said, adding that he felt “all alone” on environmental issues within the government.

AFP reports that Hulot, a popular TV celebrity in France, “was lured into government last year by Macron, but has repeatedly clashed with his cabinet colleagues over policy”.

The New York Times reports that Hulot “was fed up with what he considered insufficient progress by his government on issues like climate change and clean energy”. “I don’t want to create the illusion that my presence in the government means that we are up to the task on these issues,” Hulot said during the interview on France Inter Radio.

DeSmogUK reports that Benjamin Griveaux, a spokesman for the French government, told French TV channel BFM TV that he regretted the way Hulot had decided to resign in public, adding: “I think it would have been basic courtesy to warn the president and the prime minister.”