President Emmanuel Macron picked young, charismatic and openly gay Gabriel Attal as France’s new Prime Minister, after ex-PM Elisabeth Borne resigned amid cabinet reshuffling.&nbsp;

Attal took the charge in an official handover ceremony held at Matignon between him and Borne on Tuesday (Jan 9).&nbsp;

At 34, Attal is the youngest prime minister in modern French history. As Macron looked forward to reviving his presidency with the new government, Attal will be the face of this political renewal.&nbsp;

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Attal is a rising star in Macron’s party and took charge at a time when the president&nbsp;is looking to reboot his presidency after a year of contestation over his pensions and immigration reforms.&nbsp;

<h2>Who is Gabriel Attal? France’s youngest, openly gay PM</h2>

Gabriel Attal was an education minister in Macron’s cabinet before being picked as the PM. &nbsp;As education minister, he was quite active and even announced a ban on the Islamic headdress in French schools.

On Tuesday, right after his appointment as PM, he set out his goal clearly, that is to “unleash French potential and rearm our country”, he wrote on his official X account.

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Merci Monsieur le Président pour votre confiance. Je mesure l’honneur qui m’est fait d’être nommé Premier ministre. 
 
Un cap : garder le contrôle de notre destin, libérer le potentiel français et réarmer notre pays. 
 
Au travail, avec force, humilité et sans tabou au service des…
— Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) <a href="https://twitter.com/GabrielAttal/status/1744721068236198313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Attal grew up in Paris with his three sisters and half-Jewish descent parents.

His political career began when he participated in the 2006 youth protests in France. He graduated from Sciences Po or Paris Institute of Political Sciences in 2012 with a Master's in Public Affairs.&nbsp;

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The ever-enthusiastic Attal got his first internship at the French National Assembly with Marisol Touraine during the 2012 presidential campaign.

This laid a firm basis for his deeper understanding of elections in France which helped him climb up the political ladder.

In 2017, he was elected to the French National Assembly, representing the Hauts-de-Seine's 10th constituency. Soon, Attal was seen as one of the most talented new members of parliament.&nbsp;

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As a deputy of the National Assembly, he became a member of the Committee on Cultural and Education Affairs.

In a year, he was appointed a junior minister to the Minister of National Education and Youth in 2018. He then became the Minister of Public Action and Accounts in the government of now ex-PM Élisabeth Borne in May 2022.&nbsp;

In July 2023, Attal was appointed Minister of National Education and Youth in the 2023 French government reshuffle. At the age of 34, he became the youngest person to hold that office under the French government.&nbsp;

After Borne’s resignation, he was already considered a favourite to succeed her.

(With inputs from agencies)

President Emmanuel Macron picked young, charismatic and openly gay Gabriel Attal as France’s new Prime Minister, after ex-PM Elisabeth Borne resigned amid cabinet reshuffling.

President Emmanuel Macron picked young, charismatic and openly gay Gabriel Attal as France’s new Prime Minister, after ex-PM Elisabeth Borne resigned amid cabinet reshuffling. Attal took the charge in an official handover ceremony held at Matignon between him and Borne on Tuesday (Jan 9). At 34, Attal is the youngest prime minister in modern French history. As Macron looked forward to reviving his presidency with the new government, Attal will be the face of this political renewal. Also Read | Maldives MP Zahid Rameez, critical of PM Modi, sends birthday greetings to S Jaishankar Attal is a rising star in Macron’s party and took charge at a time when the president is looking to reboot his presidency after a year of contestation over his pensions and immigration reforms. Who is Gabriel Attal? France’s youngest, openly gay PM Gabriel Attal was an education minister in Macron’s cabinet before being picked as the PM. As education minister, he was quite active and even announced a ban on the Islamic headdress in French schools. On Tuesday, right after his appointment as PM, he set out his goal clearly, that is to “unleash French potential and rearm our country”, he wrote on his official X account. Merci Monsieur le Président pour votre confiance. Je mesure l’honneur qui m’est fait d’être nommé Premier ministre. Un cap : garder le contrôle de notre destin, libérer le potentiel français et réarmer notre pays. Au travail, avec force, humilité et sans tabou au service des… — Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) January 9, 2024 × Attal grew up in Paris with his three sisters and half-Jewish descent parents. His political career began when he participated in the 2006 youth protests in France. He graduated from Sciences Po or Paris Institute of Political Sciences in 2012 with a Master's in Public Affairs. Also Read | 2023 was hottest-ever year, temperatures exceeded those in 'last 100,000 years': EU body The ever-enthusiastic Attal got his first internship at the French National Assembly with Marisol Touraine during the 2012 presidential campaign. This laid a firm basis for his deeper understanding of elections in France which helped him climb up the political ladder. In 2017, he was elected to the French National Assembly, representing the Hauts-de-Seine's 10th constituency. Soon, Attal was seen as one of the most talented new members of parliament. Also Read | Watch: Journalist in Canada arrested after he questions deputy PM, Elon Musk reacts As a deputy of the National Assembly, he became a member of the Committee on Cultural and Education Affairs. In a year, he was appointed a junior minister to the Minister of National Education and Youth in 2018. He then became the Minister of Public Action and Accounts in the government of now ex-PM Élisabeth Borne in May 2022. In July 2023, Attal was appointed Minister of National Education and Youth in the 2023 French government reshuffle. At the age of 34, he became the youngest person to hold that office under the French government. After Borne’s resignation, he was already considered a favourite to succeed her. (With inputs from agencies)

Meet Gabriel Attal: New French PM is charismatic, openly gay and youngest ever to hold office at 34

Former French leader Nicolas Sarkozy launched a fresh bid today to win back the presidency, announcing he would seek the nomination of his centre-right party to run in next year&#39;s election. 
 
The pugnacious 61-year-old conservative, who was deeply unpopular by the end of his five years as president, had made no secret of his ambition to reconquer the top office. 
 
&quot;I have decided to be a candidate in the 2017 presidential election,&quot; Sarkozy, who was voted out of office in 2012, wrote in the foreword to a new book &quot;Tout pour la France&quot; (All for France) due out later this week. 
 
&quot;France demands that you give her your all. I feel I have the strength to lead the fight at such a turbulent moment in our history,&quot; he wrote in the book extract seen by AFP, alluding to the string of terror attacks that have rocked the country in the past year and a half. 
 
His aides told AFP he would be stepping down Monday as the leader of the Republicans party to focus on his campaign. 
 
&quot;This book is the starting point,&quot; Sarkozy tweeted, together with a link to the foreword. &quot;The next five years will be filled with danger but also with hope,&quot; he wrote. 
 
Sarkozy listed five main challenges in the years ahead: keeping promises made to the nation, defending national identity, restoring lost competitiveness, enforcing state authority and striving &quot;to restore confidence and hope in the future&quot;. 
 
&#39;Minority blackmail&#39; 
 
His announcement that he will seek his party&#39;s nomination at a primary in November comes in the midst of a resurgent debate over the place of Islam in French society, encapsulated in the row over the Islamic &quot;burkini&quot; swimsuit. 
 
Sarkozy said France&#39;s &quot;principal battle&quot; was over how &quot;to defend our lifestyle without being tempted to cut ourselves off from the rest of the world&quot;. 
 
The opposition leader, who has repeatedly dismissed socialist President Francois Hollande as weak, said he would also restore authority in neighbourhoods where he said &quot;minorities are successfully blackmailing the current authorities&quot;. 
 
The politician, who was defeated in his bid for reelection in 2012 after conducting a campaign seen by many in his own camp as too right-wing, faces several challengers for the conservative nomination. His chief rival, popular former premier and Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppe who is seen as a moderate, is the favourite to win the nod. 
 
But Juppe&#39;s lead in opinion polls has shrunk in recent weeks as Sarkozy steps up his rhetoric on Islamist extremists and immigration in the wake of last month&#39;s massacre in Nice. 
 
Legal woes 
 
&quot;War has been declared on us,&quot; Sarkozy said in an interview with Valeurs Actuelles magazine in mid-August. 
 
&quot;The barbarians who are attacking us believe we are weak,&quot; he said, calling for a &quot;merciless&quot; response. 
 
Sarkozy has already won the support of a Republicans heavyweight in the shape of Christian Estrosi, president of the southern region that includes Marseille. 
 
&quot;He is the best candidate,&quot; Estrosi told the Journal de Dimanche yesterday. 
 
If Sarkozy wins, he could face a rematch against Hollande, who has said he too has the &quot;desire&quot; for a second term, despite opinion polls overwhelmingly showing the French wanting neither man as their leader. During his term in office, Hollande has surpassed Sarkozy to become the most unpopular president in post-war France. 
 
Sarkozy would also face far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who is tipped to make it to a second round of voting. 
 
The man known as &quot;President Bling-Bling&quot; for his flashy lifestyle and cosy ties with tycoons while in office, never digested his 2012 defeat by Hollande, whom he had written off as &quot;useless.&quot; After telling the French before his defeat they would never hear from him if vanquished, Sarkozy made a comeback to frontline politics in 2014. 
 
And a host of legal troubles has failed to dent his ambition of returning to the Elysee Palace. 
 
(AFP)

The 61-year-old said he would restore authority in neighbourhoods where 'minorities are successfully blackmailing the current authorities'

Former French leader Nicolas Sarkozy launched a fresh bid today to win back the presidency, announcing he would seek the nomination of his centre-right party to run in next year's election. The pugnacious 61-year-old conservative, who was deeply unpopular by the end of his five years as president, had made no secret of his ambition to reconquer the top office. "I have decided to be a candidate in the 2017 presidential election," Sarkozy, who was voted out of office in 2012, wrote in the foreword to a new book "Tout pour la France" (All for France) due out later this week. "France demands that you give her your all. I feel I have the strength to lead the fight at such a turbulent moment in our history," he wrote in the book extract seen by AFP, alluding to the string of terror attacks that have rocked the country in the past year and a half. His aides told AFP he would be stepping down Monday as the leader of the Republicans party to focus on his campaign. "This book is the starting point," Sarkozy tweeted, together with a link to the foreword. "The next five years will be filled with danger but also with hope," he wrote. Sarkozy listed five main challenges in the years ahead: keeping promises made to the nation, defending national identity, restoring lost competitiveness, enforcing state authority and striving "to restore confidence and hope in the future". 'Minority blackmail' His announcement that he will seek his party's nomination at a primary in November comes in the midst of a resurgent debate over the place of Islam in French society, encapsulated in the row over the Islamic "burkini" swimsuit. Sarkozy said France's "principal battle" was over how "to defend our lifestyle without being tempted to cut ourselves off from the rest of the world". The opposition leader, who has repeatedly dismissed socialist President Francois Hollande as weak, said he would also restore authority in neighbourhoods where he said "minorities are successfully blackmailing the current authorities". The politician, who was defeated in his bid for reelection in 2012 after conducting a campaign seen by many in his own camp as too right-wing, faces several challengers for the conservative nomination. His chief rival, popular former premier and Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppe who is seen as a moderate, is the favourite to win the nod. But Juppe's lead in opinion polls has shrunk in recent weeks as Sarkozy steps up his rhetoric on Islamist extremists and immigration in the wake of last month's massacre in Nice. Legal woes "War has been declared on us," Sarkozy said in an interview with Valeurs Actuelles magazine in mid-August. "The barbarians who are attacking us believe we are weak," he said, calling for a "merciless" response. Sarkozy has already won the support of a Republicans heavyweight in the shape of Christian Estrosi, president of the southern region that includes Marseille. "He is the best candidate," Estrosi told the Journal de Dimanche yesterday. If Sarkozy wins, he could face a rematch against Hollande, who has said he too has the "desire" for a second term, despite opinion polls overwhelmingly showing the French wanting neither man as their leader. During his term in office, Hollande has surpassed Sarkozy to become the most unpopular president in post-war France. Sarkozy would also face far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who is tipped to make it to a second round of voting. The man known as "President Bling-Bling" for his flashy lifestyle and cosy ties with tycoons while in office, never digested his 2012 defeat by Hollande, whom he had written off as "useless." After telling the French before his defeat they would never hear from him if vanquished, Sarkozy made a comeback to frontline politics in 2014. And a host of legal troubles has failed to dent his ambition of returning to the Elysee Palace. (AFP)

Sarkozy announces new bid for French presidency

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Meet Gabriel Attal: New French PM is charismatic, openly gay and youngest ever to hold office at 34

Sarkozy announces new bid for French presidency