Gabriel Attal, at the age of 34, has made history by becoming the youngest prime minister of France. President Emmanuel Macron appointed him to take over from Elisabeth Borne, marking a significant change in the Macron presidency. Attal, who previously served as education minister, is also the first openly gay premier in the country, having entered into a civil union with a French MEP.
President Macron expressed his confidence in Attal’s abilities and dedication to achieving the political objectives of his presidency in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Elisabeth Borne, aged 62, resigned along with the rest of her government due to unfavorable public opinion. The government faced backlash after pushing through controversial pension reforms without a vote, leading to widespread protests.
The French public also held her responsible for her failure to address the issues of inflation and illegal immigration. The latter problem resulted in a surge in popularity for the right-wing National Rally party, which advocates for stricter border control and is led by Marine Le Pen in parliament.
In her resignation letter, Borne subtly indicated that she would have preferred to continue in her position. She mentioned that she felt compelled to present the letter to the president, despite her passion for the job, as reported by Associated France Presse.
This government reshuffle comes at a crucial time, just months before the Olympic Games are scheduled to be held in Paris and the European Parliament election takes place in June. Polls predict that the centrist forces led by Macron will experience a significant loss of seats in the EU legislature.
Although the incumbent president secured his second term two years ago by defeating Le Pen in the second round, he was unable to capitalize on this success during the subsequent race for parliamentary seats several months later.
