French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Gabriel Attal as the country’s new prime minister, as he seeks to boost his political fortunes ahead of European parliamentary elections.
Key points:
- Gabriel Attal will be the first openly gay and youngest prime minister of France
- The 34-year-old has taken over the position from Elisabeth Borne
- Attal is hoped to help breathe new life into Macron’s second term ahead of the election
The 34-year-old education minister will become France’s youngest ever and first openly gay prime minister.
Mr Macron, who his serving his second term as France’s president, announced Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne was resigning earlier this week.
The new prime minister will be tasked with trying to improve Mr Macron’s party’s chances of winning in the June EU elections.
Opinion polls show the Renaissance party trailing far-right leader Marine Le Pen by around eight to 10 percentage points.
The move will not necessarily lead to any major political shift, but signals a desire for Mr Macron to try to move beyond last year’s unpopular pension and immigration reforms and improve his centrist party’s chances in the June EU ballot.
Mr Attal, a close Macron ally, became a household name as government spokesman during the COVID pandemic.
One of the country’s most popular politicians in recent opinion polls, he has also become known as a savvy minister, at ease on radio shows and in parliament.
Mr Attal and Mr Macron have a combined age just below that of Joe Biden, who is running for a second term in this year’s US presidential election.
Mr Macron has struggled to deal with a more turbulent parliament since losing his absolute majority shortly after being re-elected in 2022.
“The Macron-Attal duo can bring a new lease of life [to the government],” Harris Interactive pollster Jean-Daniel Levy said.
But opposition leaders were quick to say they did not expect much from the change in prime minister, with Mr Macron himself taking on much of the decision-making.
“Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal or someone else, I don’t care, it will just be the same policies,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told France Inter radio.
A wider cabinet reshuffle is expected this week as Mr Macron seeks to sharpen his team for the final three years of his presidency.
ABC/Wires