France’s de-facto deputy Prime Minister, Alain Juppe, suffered a surprise defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary election and immediately announced he would quit the government. Juppe, a former Prime Minister, was handed the powerful energy and environmental portfolio last month – a nomination that marked his return to top flight politics after his 2004 conviction in a party corruption scandal. But his reappearance on the national stage was short lived after he lost to a little-known Socialist candidate in his Bordeaux constituency in Sunday’s legislative ballot.

“I will present my resignation as minister of ecology and durable development to the president and the Prime Minister,” a sombre-looking Juppe said after the official result was announced. Bordeaux city hall said Juppe won 49.07 percent of the vote against 50.93 percent for Socialist Michele Delaunay.