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

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.

Attal is a rising star in Macron’s party and took charge at a time when the presidentis 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.

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.

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.

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)