The French minister in charge of small and medium-sized companies resigned on Wednesday after being convicted for failing to declare all of his assets.

Alain Griset was handed a six-month suspended prison term and a suspended ban on holding public office for three years by a court in Paris on Wednesday, which found he had deliberately hidden his financial holdings when entering the government in July 2020.

All ministers are required to declare their wealth to a regulator in charge of public transparency, but the court found Griset had concealed an account holding €171,000 worth of shares, as well as direct shareholdings in other companies. 

The 68-year-old former taxi driver was also found to be actively managing 130,000 euros worth of assets for the Cnams business association from northern France which had deposited the money in his account.

A statement from Prime Minister Jean Castex noted that Griset's resignation had been accepted while hailing the "spirit of responsibility which was behind this decision."

Although Griset was barely known to the public, the resignation was widely covered in the French media and it represents an unwelcome embarrassment for President Emmanuel Macron who is expected to seek a second term in elections next April.

His former bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, received a three-year sentence last month for assaulting two young demonstrators during an anti-capitalist protest in 2018. 

Griset has announced that he will appeal his conviction.