PARIS: Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday appointed 34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal as his new prime minister, as the French president seeks to breathe new life into his second mandate ahead of European Parliament elections.
The move would not necessarily lead to any major political change, but would reflect Macron’s desire to try to move on from last year’s unpopular pension and immigration reforms and improve his centrist party’s chances in June’s EU vote. Gives indication of.
Opinion polls show that Macron’s camp is lagging behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s party by about eight to ten percentage points.
Atal, a close ally of Macron who became a household name as a government spokesperson during the Covid pandemic, will replace outgoing Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
One of the country’s most popular politicians in recent opinion polls, Atal has made his mark as a savvy minister who is comfortable on radio shows and in Parliament.
He will be France’s youngest Prime Minister and the first to be openly gay.
“Gabriel Atal is a bit like the Macron of 2017,” said MP Patrick Wignall. He referred to the point when the president first took office as the youngest leader in modern French history, making him a popular figure among voters at the time.
Vignal, who belongs to Macron’s Renaissance party and first met Atal more than ten years ago, said the education minister was “clear, he has the authority”.
The combined age of Atal and Macron will be just below that of Joe Biden, who is running for a second mandate in this year’s US presidential election.
Macron has struggled to deal with a more volatile parliament after losing his absolute majority shortly after seeking re-election in 2022.
“The Macron-Atal duo could bring a new life (to the government),” said Harris Interactive pollster Jean-Daniel Levy.
But opposition leaders were quick to say they did not have much hope for a change in prime minister, with Macron himself taking responsibility for most decision-making.
“Elisabeth Born, Gabriel Attal or anyone else, I don’t care, it will just be the same policies,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told France Inter radio.
