PARIS — France’s high-profile environment minister was fed up with what he considered insufficient progress by his government on issues like climate change and clean energy. So on Tuesday, he quit his post in dramatic fashion, dealing a blow to President Emmanuel Macron’s green credentials.

The minister, Nicolas Hulot, an environmental activist and former television star who regularly ranked as one of Mr. Macron’s most popular ministers, made the surprise announcement during a live interview on France Inter radio in which he said he no longer wanted to “lie to myself.”

“I don’t want to create the illusion that my presence in the government means that we are up to the task on these issues, and so I have decided to leave the government today,” Mr. Hulot told the stunned radio hosts, one of whom asked him whether he was being serious.

The abruptness of the decision came as a surprise: Mr. Hulot told France Inter that he had not warned Mr. Macron, the prime minister or even his own staff about the announcement.