On Tuesday, Gabriel Attal made history by becoming France’s youngest and first openly gay prime minister at the age of 34. His appointment followed the resignation of Élisabeth Borne on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed confidence in Attal, stating on X (formerly known as Twitter), “I know I can count on your energy and your commitment.” Macron drew parallels with the “spirit of 2017,” the year he became France’s youngest president.
During the ceremony, Attal acknowledged the symbolic significance of being the youngest prime minister, emphasizing it as a representation of boldness and movement, as well as a symbol of confidence in young people.
In his inaugural speech, Attal outlined his priorities, which include making security an “absolute priority,” promoting values of “authority and respect for others,” strengthening public services such as schools and healthcare, and advocating for better control of immigration.
Gabriel Attal, a rising star in French politics for the past decade, began his career as a health ministry adviser and member of the Socialists party. He joined Macron’s political movement in 2016, became a member of parliament in 2017, and served as government spokesperson during the pandemic in 2020. After Macron’s reelection in 2022, he briefly served as budget minister and, in July 2023, assumed the role of education minister.
Attal’s tenure as education minister saw controversial decisions, such as banning abayas in schools, citing their challenge to secularism. He also advocated for school uniforms and led an anti-bullying campaign, drawing from his own experiences of being bullied at the elite École alsacienne in Paris.
Notably, Attal, in a civil partnership with Stéphane Sejourné, a member of the European Parliament, became the first openly gay prime minister in France. He publicly came out in 2018, with an old school associate outing him shortly after his appointment as a junior minister, as reported by Reuters. Attal will lead the French government into the European Parliament elections in June.