Patrick Kanner, 57, has taken up the role as part of a recent reshuffle that has seen his predecessor, the highly-regarded Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, promoted to Education Minister.

The reshuffle was sparked by an inter-Ministerial row over the direction of Government policy at a time when the country remains mired in a state of low growth and high unemployment.

Kanner assumes office as 12 working groups comprising 200 figures from across French society are investigating whether Paris should put itself forward again to host the Olympics and Paralympics following unsuccessful bids for 1992, 2008 and 2012.

The study's conclusions are expected by the end of the year; however, with prospective host cities for the 2024 Games required to show their hand by September 2015, the odds against a Paris bid getting off the ground appear to be lengthening.

President François Hollande's popularity is low, and with citizens in Western Europe manifesting increasing scepticism about the benefits of hosting sporting mega-events, some evidence of a meaningful economic upturn in France is likely to be necessary for a Paris 2024 bid to be seen as politically viable.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, pictured with President François Hollande, has indicated a 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid by the French capital may not be viable under the current financial climate ©AFP/Getty Images



Anne Hidalgo, Paris's new Socialist Mayor, came across as not particularly enthusiastic about a bid in comments made earlier this year.

During a visit to the United States - which seems increasingly likely to launch a well-supported 2024 bid of its own - Hidalgo said that, while she loved sports, "today we are all under financial and budgetary restraints that do not make it possible for me to say I support such a candidacy".

A deputy to the Mayor of Lille, the northern French city which bid unsuccessfully for the 2004 Olympics and Paralympics that were staged in Athens, Kanner takes up his portfolio as France is hosting the World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

The country is also gearing up to host the Euro 2016 European football championships.