As reported by French media, Emmanuel Macron named 34-year-old Gabriel Attal as his new prime minister on Tuesday to breathe new life into his second mandate ahead of elections to the European Parliament.
Although this step won’t necessarily result in a significant political change, it does show Macron’s intention to try to move beyond the unpopular immigration and immigration measures and strengthen his centrist party’s chances in the June EU ballot.
According to opinion surveys, Macron’s camp is eight to 10 percentage points behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s party.
RTL radio and BFM TV said that Attal, a close Macron ally who rose to fame as the government’s spokesperson during the Covid outbreak, will replace outgoing Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
There was no instant official confirmation of the highly anticipated move.
According to recent opinion polls, Attal is one of the country’s favourite politicians. He has established himself as a savvy minister who is at ease on radio shows and in parliament. He will become France’s youngest prime minister and the first to be openly gay.