The French Minister for the Environment, Nicolas Hulot, resigned live on radio yesterday evening (Monday, August 27), much to the surprise of those listening.

Speaking to French radio station France Inter, the Minister for Environment said that he was making the “most difficult decision of his life”, announcing that he was leaving Government.

The former minister caught everyone by surprise, telling France Inter that he had not informed either the French President, Emmanuel Macron, or the Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, of his decision when making his announcement.

He said: “If I had warned Edouard Philippe and Emmanuel Macron of my resignation, they would perhaps have dissuaded me.”

Hulot apologised for “doing the wrong thing” in not informing them, and said that he does not want to collapse the Government, which he remains close to.

Hulot was apparently frustrated with the “small steps” being made on climate change, adding that he had been told to be patient; “but we have been patient for 30 years”.


A decision by Government to relax hunting legislation in a “victory for lobbyists” is understood to have been the last straw for the minister.

It was also noted by the French media outlet that Hulot did not get on with the French Minister for Agriculture Stephane Travert, saying that the Government had “missed” its objectives in agricultural reform.

Hulot, an ecologist and former TV presenter, is understood to have no further political ambitions at present, and hopes his resignation will be the “electroshock” to mobilise a change of paradigm for climate change.

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