A series of controversial affairs involving key staff, some surprise resignations, comments from senior figures in his own administration and dysfunctional behaviour at all levels of government have left President Emmanuel Macron weaker than ever after the summer. There is growing concern inside his entourage where many now recognise that the presidency has a problem; and that this problem involves the president himself. Ellen Salvi reports.
The Benalla affair, which involved the French president's security aide, caused political damage to Emmanuel Macron at the start of France's summer break. The head of state hoped that the post-holiday resumption of political daily life would allow him to regain control of events. But following the shock resignation of his high-profile environment minister Nicolas Hulot, and with economic growth in France set to be lower than forecast this year, Macron seems once again at the mercy of events. Ellen Salvi analyses the French president's woes.
French environment minister Nicolas Hulot dramatically resigned from government on Tuesday, announcing his surprise decision during a live radio interview. Mediapart publishing editor Edwy Plenel argues here that it represents a salutary electroshock that highlights the impasse of economic policies leading to an ecological catastrophe, and also puts an end to the illusion that the will of a supposedly providential man alone can bring about a sudden turnaround in approach to environmental issues. Hulot’s resignation, he says, resonates as a call for society to mobilise itself in favour of a veritable political alternative.
French environment minister Nicolas Hulot, one of the most popular ministers, resigned during a live radio interview, citing 'an accumulation of disappointments' with the environmental 'mini-steps' decided by President Emmanuel Macron and his government which he said were too influenced by lobbyists.
French environment minister Nicolas Hulot has applauded a Californian court judgment which found agrochemical giant Monsanto did not warn of the serious health risks of using its herbicide Roundup, ordering it to pay nearly $290 million to a school groundskeeper who developed terminal cancer after using the product, adding that he hoped the ruling 'corrects the indifference of politicians' over the dangers of the weedkiller's key compound glyphosate.
The official declarations by French government ministers of their personal wealth, which can be consulted online, show that French labour minister Muriel Pénicaud is the richest, with assets worth 7.5 million euros, and that environment minister Nicolas Hulot, a figurehead of the Green movement in the country, owns six cars, a motorboat and a motorbike.
Environment minister Nicolas Hulot has announced a plan to shut down 17 out of France's 58 nuclear reactors as part of a pledge to reduce the share of nuclear production of the country's energy from 75 percent to 50 percent by the year 2025, although he did not detail which plants would be partially or totally closed.
