Former French government minister, Patrick Devedjian, has died of Covid-19.

The 75-year-old was a former president of the Paris Haut-de-Seine district.

On March 26 just a few days before his death he tweeted that he was suffering from coronavirus symptoms.

He said that he'd been affected by the epidemic and was able to testify to the exceptional work of the medical staff.

Earlier in the week, he'd also tweeted his thanks to the staff of the Haut-de-Seine department for their work tackling the outbreak. .

Once an advisor to former President Nicolas Sarkozy Devedjian had held a number of ministerial positions since entering politics in 1983.

On social media, politicians have been paying tribute to Devedjian, who was of Armenian descent.

The Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was one of those who posted condolences.