French President Emmanuel Macron picked a political ally and a former swimming world champion to plug two holes in his government left by the unexpected resignations of the environment and sports ministers.
The presidential Elysee Palace announced the mini-reshuffle in a brief statement.
He replaces Nicolas Hulot, a high-profile and popular green campaigner who quit last week, lamenting that not enough was being done against environmental destruction.
French online investigative site Mediapart and weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported that Ms Flessel is in trouble with tax authorities for alleged issues regarding the company handling her image rights as a former athlete.
Her office said her resignation was not related to tax issues, according to Mediapart.
He will be one of the public faces of Mr Macron’s efforts to position France as a champion in the fight against climate change and as a counterweight to the environmental policies of President Donald Trump.
The loss of Mr Hulot, who quit out of the blue last week during a live radio interview, deprived Mr Macron of one of his most popular ministers and cast doubt on the strength of the French leader’s commitment to “make our planet great again”.
Mr Hulot, a long-time environmental advocate, criticised France’s slow pace of progress on green issues and his own lack of power as minister to force change.
Mr de Rugy is a former Green party member who backed Mr Macron during his 2017 electoral campaign and became a member of his party, Republic on the Move.
