French Minister Laura Flessel said on Tuesday that she has decided to step down due to personal reasons, she said in a communique distributed by the Sports Ministry.
"After 16 exciting months at the helm of the Sports Ministry, I have made a decision to leave the government due to personal reasons. I discussed this with the prime minister [Edouard Philippe] last night. I would like to express my gratitude to him and the president of the republic [Emmanuel Macron] for their trust and support in the implementation of my mission," Flessel said.
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Flessel added she admired Philippe’s and Macron’s determination and the values they pursued, adding she would continue being a part of their team.
The Elysee Palace in its statement already revealed that the president of the lower house of the French parliament Francois de Rugy will become the new ecology minister, replacing Nicolas Hulot.
"He [French President Emmanuel Macron] has appointed Francois de Rugy the minister of state, the minister for ecological and solidary transition," the statement read.
Roxana Maracineanu, a backstroke swimmer and 2000 Olympics silver medalist, will replace Laura Flessel as Sport Minister, according to the statement.
Hulot cited lack of progress on meeting environment policy goals as the reason for his resignation.
The German news source also stated that Laura Flessel, who is a former Olympic champion in fencing, and recently resigned Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot managed to get into ranking that determined Macron's most popular ministers, whereas the French president's ranking declined once again, Deutsche Welle reported.
