PARIS, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday dismissed criticism of "political crisis" after accepting resignation of Interior Minister Gerard Collomb.
Chairing a weekly cabinet meeting, Macron "stressed that nothing (that) happened over the 48 is akin to a political crisis. The state works, the changes are initiated, the government is perfectly at its task," Benjamin Griveaux, the government's spokesman quoted the head of state as saying.
Earlier on Wednesday, the president accepted the minister's resignation after initially refusing it. He asked Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to handle interior portfolio until the announcement of a successor.
"The Prime Minister and the President of the Republic will take the necessary time to choose the person who will replace Gerard Collomb and this is simply a matter of a few days," Griveaux told reporters.
Collomb, the 71-year-old veteran socialist who joined the ruling camp in 2017, announced weeks ago that he would quit the government in mid 2019 to run for the Lyon municipal elections in 2020. He served as Lyon's mayor from 2001 to 2017.
His departure may further cloud the outlook of the 40-year-old head of state as his reforms were criticized by his opponents and cracks appeared in the unity of his cabinet.
The environment minister and sports minister, two of Macron's popular cabinet members, resigned several weeks ago.
