French Interior Minister To Quit In Further Blow To Macron

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France's Interior Minister Gerard Collomb announced on Tuesday (Sep 18) that he will stand down next year to run again for his old job as mayor of the city of Lyon, in yet another blow to President Emmanuel Macron.

The announcement from Collomb, a political heavyweight and one of Macron's most loyal ministers, comes after popular environment minister Nicolas Hulot quit last month and as the president's approval ratings have plummeted.

Collomb told news magazine L'Express that he will stand for mayor of Lyon in eastern France in 2020, resigning as interior minister after next year's European elections to start campaigning.


"The local elections are still far away - I will run in Lyon if I don't get diagnosed as seriously ill any time before that," he joked.

"I won't be interior minister right up until the last moment. After a certain amount of time it would be better to be totally free for the campaign," he said.

"I think ministers who want to run in the 2020 local elections should be able to quit the government after the European fight," he said of the May 2019 European Parliament polls.