A “mini-Macron” with an unconventional orientation has become the new Prime Minister of France

Emmanuel Macron has appointed 34-year-old Gabriel Attal as the new Prime Minister of France. Education Minister Attal has quickly emerged as the favorite to succeed Borne, 62. “Mini-Macron,” as Western publications call him, becomes the youngest prime minister of France and the first to openly admit to being gay.

The new prime minister is a close ally of Macron, who became a household name after being appointed as the government’s spokesman during the COVID pandemic.

Before joining Macron, Attal was a member of France’s Socialist Party and in 2023 became junior finance minister and education minister, making a name for himself as one of Macron’s savviest ministers, speaking freely on both radio shows and parliament.

Since taking over as education minister, he has taken a number of high-profile steps, including a ban on Muslim dress in schools (a decision that has pleased the right). The ban on the abaya – a loose, long garment that covers the entire body – was seen as a strong statement amid Macron’s troubles. Recall that the second term of the French president was overshadowed by riots that broke out in the summer due to racial tensions between the French police and the country’s youth.

Macron was also heavily criticized for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, and for refusing opposition calls for a referendum on the issue.

Predecessor Attalya Bourne was also tainted by the issue, sparking angry protests across the country after she used a special procedure to push the pension age increase through the National Assembly without a vote in March 2023.

Attal also took on the problem of teacher shortages and salary disputes, which only increased his popularity.

“Gabriel Attal is a bit like the Macron of 2017,” said MP Patrick Vignal, referring to the moment the president first took office as the youngest leader in modern French history and at the time a popular figure among voters.

Vignal, who belongs to Macron’s Renaissance party and first met Attal more than a decade ago, added that the education minister is “clear, he has authority.”

The combined age of Attal and Macron, the Daily Mail emphasizes, will be slightly lower than that of Joe Biden, who is running for a second term in the US presidential election this year.

“Gabriel Attal is the best card the president can play,” French sociologist Jerome Fourquet said before Attal’s appointment. He added that Attal won over voters through his quick action as education minister and his communication skills. He is seen as a more political figure than Bourne, who was once called “Macron’s Iron Lady”.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders immediately stated that they did not expect much from the changes that had taken place. “Elisabeth Borne, Gabrielle Attal or anyone else, I don’t care, it will be the same policy,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told France Inter radio.

However, polls have shown Attal to be the government’s most popular minister and many see him as a likely contender to succeed Macron as head of state in 2027.

If he were to enter the presidential race, he would have to go head to head with another rising star in French politics, the even younger Jordan Bardella.

At 28, Bardella is the leader of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party.

The Daily Mail notes that the similarities between Attal and Macron are well documented. One day, 9-year-old Attal was seen on video rehearsing his speech lines in front of the class. Macron was also a child actor who famously fell in love with his teacher Brigitte.

A former classmate of Attal’s at the private Alsace school – one of the most prestigious in Paris – said: “Gabriel is like a mini-Macron who likes to follow in the footsteps of his boss. People like a clean image, but Gabriel is actually much more unconventional and happy to challenge conventional values.”

You certainly can’t argue here. Attal is in a relationship with the 38-year-old secretary general of the Renaissance party, Stephane Sejournet. They are in a civil marriage and live in the same house in Paris.

Having taken the post of the next prime minister, Attalus is now tipped for the presidency. Macron is barred from running again in 2027 because French heads of state are only allowed two terms in power, leaving room for someone else to enter the fray.

An Ifop poll published in the second half of last year named Attal as the “preferred candidate” to lead the Renaissance party in 2027.

He was ahead of Édouard Philippe, another of Macron’s former prime ministers, and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin in the polls, earning Attal the nicknames “Macron II” and “Boy Macron”.

Attal, who speaks good English, is expected to make an impression on the world stage and has said he is determined to uphold the traditions of France’s secular society, which bans any symbols that might be associated with religion.

Opponents, meanwhile, accused Attal of being like Macron – a spoiled rich child who flirted with socialism before focusing on his vast wealth.

Attal’s meteoric rise in French politics began at the age of 23, when he joined the Socialists as an adviser to the Ministry of Health under President François Hollande.

He first became a junior minister in 2018, aged just 29, and has since held a number of key positions, including government spokesman when he became a familiar face on French television during the coronavirus pandemic.

The expected reshuffle comes ahead of the Paris Olympics and European Parliament elections this summer, where Macron’s centrist forces risk being defeated by the far right led by Marine Le Pen.

Commentators say the reshuffle is needed to revive Macron’s centrist presidency of the past three years and prevent him from becoming a lame duck leader after a series of crises.