On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron named 34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal as his new prime minister, hoping to breathe new life into his second mandate ahead of the European Parliament elections. The decision will not necessarily result in a huge political shift, but it does show Macron’s desire to move beyond last year’s unpopular pension and immigration measures and strengthen his centrist party’s chances in the June EU election. According to opinion polls, Macron’s camp is eight to 10 percentage points behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s party.
Attal, a close Macron friend who became a household figure as the government’s spokesman during the COVID outbreak, will succeed outgoing Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. One of the country’s most popular politicians in recent opinion polls, Attal has made a name for himself as a savvy minister, at ease on radio shows and in parliament. “Dear @GabrielAttal, I know I can count on your energy and your commitment to implement the project of revitalisation and regeneration that I announced,” said Macron, who at the end of last year said he would announce new political initiatives.
Attal will become France’s youngest prime minister and the first to be out gay
Attal will become France’s youngest prime minister and the first to be out gay. He and Macron are just a few years younger than Joe Biden, who is running for a second term in the United States presidential race. Macron has struggled to deal with a more volatile parliament since losing his absolute majority immediately after being re-elected in 2022. “By appointing Gabriel Attal… Emmanuel Macron wants to cling to his popularity in opinion polls to alleviate the pain of an interminable end to his reign,” said Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old head of Le Pen’s National Rally. “Instead, he risks taking the short-lived Education Minister with him in his fall.”
Other opposition leaders were quick to point out that they did not anticipate much from the new prime minister, with Macron taking on much of the decision-making. “I don’t care if it’s Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal, or someone else; the policies will remain the same,” Socialist Party head Olivier Faure told France Inter radio. However, MP Patrick Vignal, a member of Macron’s Renaissance party, stated that Attal is “a bit like the Macron of 2017,” referring to the moment when the President became the youngest leader in modern French history and was a popular figure among voters. Vignal stated that Attal “is clear, he has authority”.