(Bloomberg) --
French President Emmanuel Macron named Elisabeth Borne as his new energy minister to replace Francois de Rugy, who resigned over a reports of a lavish lifestyle in his public offices.
Borne, 58, was picked late on Tuesday, hours after de Rugy handed over his resignation, saying he couldn't carry out his duties while trying to defend himself from allegations that he used taxpayer money to pay for multiple dinners and the costly refurbishment of his official residence.
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Borne, who will remain transportation minister, has been in Macron's government since the start. The engineer and former chief of the Paris metro system is little known by French voters. She worked briefly at the construction company Eiffage and headed the urban planning of the city of Paris from 2008 to 2013. A 2018 profile in Liberation newspaper described her as “austere.”
De Rugy's replacement will need to seek new ways to raise funds after planned levies on gasoline and diesel were dropped amid violent street protests that erupted across the country at the end of last year. The minister will also be tasked with handling plans to reduce a tax break on fuel used by truck transporters. Borne will keep tabs on the delayed construction of the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor and decide on the potential construction of new plants.
To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Phil Serafino
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