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French minister resigns after lobster dinner scandal

Environment Minister Francois de Rugy has been under intense pressure after the Mediapart website accused him of hosting friends to opulent meals while he was speaker of parliament. [AFP]

A senior French cabinet minister and close ally of President Emmanuel Macron resigned on Tuesday after reports accused him of extravagant state-funded lobster dinners and misusing public housing in a blow to the centrist government.

Francois de Rugy, who was named environment minister in September 2018, announced his departure after a week of revelations from the leftwing website Mediapart.

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