French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Gabriel Attal as the country’s new prime minister, making him the youngest and first openly gay official to hold the position.
The 34-year-old education minister was named to the post on Tuesday, and is one of the country’s most popular politicians, according to recent opinion polls.
Attal replaces outgoing Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne who resigned on Monday amid a cabinet reshuffle as Macron hopes to give new momentum to the final three years of his presidency.
Who is Gabriel Attal?
Attal, 34, came to widespread attention in France as the government spokesman during the coronavirus pandemic.
He has emerged as one of the country’s most popular politicians in recent opinion polls, and is a close ally of the president.
Attal will become the youngest French prime minister in history and the first one to be openly gay.
The previous youngest premier was Laurent Fabius, who was named prime minister in 1987 by late President Francois Mitterrand aged 37.
Following his appointment as education minister last year, Attal’s first move was to ban the Muslim abaya dress in state schools, scoring accolades from conservatives despite his left-wing background, being originally a supporter of the Socialist Party before moving to Macron’s centrist movement when it was founded in 2016.
Cabinet reshuffle expected
The appointment comes as Macron and allied centrist forces seek to slow the momentum of the far right under Marine Le Pen ahead of European Parliament elections this summer.
The president is also seeking a fresh image for the last three years of his second and last term following protests over unpopular pension reforms, the loss of his overall majority in parliamentary elections and controversy over immigration legislation.
The revamp is also to allow a new face of France to be presented to the world when Paris hosts the Olympics and Paralympics in summer.
/Argumentum.al
