French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Gabriel Attal as the country’s new prime minister, replacing Elisabeth Borne, France’s second female prime minister.
Elisabeth Borne resigned earlier this week amid a cabinet reshuffle. In her resignation letter, Borne suggested she resigned at Macron’s request, citing the president’s “will to appoint a new prime minister”.
At 34 years old, Attal will become France’s youngest ever and first openly gay prime minister. He’s known as a close ally to Macron and became a household name during the COVID pandemic for his role as a government spokesman. Most recently, he has served as education minister.
Under the French political system, the prime minister is appointed by the president and accountable to the parliament.
Recent opinion polls put Attal as one of the country’s most popular politicians, and his appointment by Macron signals a desire by the president to improve his centrist party’s chances of a win in the European parliamentary elections in June.
Last year, Macron’s party made unpopular pension and immigration reforms aimed at strengthening the government’s ability to deport some foreigners. The reforms were only able to pass after his centrist alliance made a deal with the conservative Republicans, which many people saw as a shift to the right side of politics.
At the time of these policy moves, Borne, 62, had been in charge of implementing domestic policy and coordinating the government’s team of ministers. She was appointed in May 2022, following Macron’s re-election for a second term.
At the beginning of the summer, riots erupted across France after a deadly police shooting of a teenager of North African descent. Borne and Macron were also faced with mass protests against unpopular pension changes.
The various controversial policy moves raised questions from observers over the ability of Borne’s government to pass future major bills.
Speaking on the state of the country as he steps into the role of PM, Attal said: “I’m well aware of the context in which I take on this job.”
“Too many people in France doubt our country, doubt themselves or our future.”
As education minister, Attal took a hard stance on authority and secularism by defending a ban on girls in state schools from wearing abayas and experimenting with introducing school uniforms.
“I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools,” Attal told French television at the time. “When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them.”
Attal will appoint a new government in the coming days and has said he’ll pursue what he described as Macron’s pro-business drive to transform the French economy, while focusing on young people and education.
Referred to by some as a “baby Macron”, Attal labeled his appointment by Macron was a bold move. “The youngest president in [French] history is appointing the youngest prime minister in [French] history. I want to see it as a symbol of audacity,” he said.
Critics of Attal’s appointment are sceptical that it will bring any change, with Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure telling France Inter Radio, “Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal or someone else, I don’t care, it will just be the same policies.”