Macron may appoint France’s youngest PM
President considers openly gay education minister Attal, 34, for premier after sacking ‘Iron Lady’ Borne
EMMANUEL MACRON was last night considering appointing France’s youngest ever prime minister after he fired Elisabeth Borne, the country’s longest-serving female in the top government post.
If confirmed for the job, Gabriel Attal, 34, currently education minister who harks from the Left and is a rising cabinet star seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2027, would also be France’s first openly gay prime minister.
The names of three potential male replacements emerged yesterday, but French media last night suggested Mr Attal was in pole position.
He has impressed as education minister since taking over last summer, with a number of high-profile moves including a ban on Muslim dress in schools that pleased the Right.
The ban on the abaya – a loose-fitting full-length robe – was seen as a strong statement following the riots that broke out across the country in the summer that renewed social and racial tensions between French youth and police. Mr Attal has also moved to address the teacher shortage and salary disputes.
Rumours had been circulating about a potential reshuffle over the weekend, with supporters and commentators deeming it essential to breathe new life into his second five-year term. Since he defeated nationalist opponent Marine Le Pen in 2022, Mr Macron has faced protests over unpopular pension reforms, the loss of his absolute majority in parliamentary elections and controversy over immigration legislation.
Ms Borne, 62, a dry, Left-leaning technocrat once labelled “Macron’s Iron Lady” by Paris Match, survived all these trials but doubts persisted about her future. Francois Bayrou, a key ally of Mr Macron and leader of the centrist Modem party, told BFMTV that a change in the government’s make-up was “necessary”. One Macron MP told BFMTV that she was “burnt out”.
While she officially stepped down from the post, she made it clear she had not done so willingly by using the phrase “I have to present my resignation”. A similar sentence was employed by Michel Rocard in 1991 when François Mitterrand, then the Socialist president, forced him to step down against his will.
In her resignation letter, Ms Borne – who was in her post for more than 20 months, twice as long as France’s only other female prime minister, Edith Cresson – said that it was “more necessary than ever to pursue reforms”.
Among the other favourites to take over were the armed forces minister Sebastien Lecornu, 37, and the former agriculture minister Julien Denormandie, 43 – said to be close to Brigitte Macron, the president’s wife.
An Ifop survey in October also found that Mr Attal was voters’ preferred choice to stand for French president for Mr Macron’s Renaissance camp when he steps down as he cannot run for a third term. However, the prime ministerial role in France is double-edged.
Under the French system, the president sets general policies and the prime minister is responsible for day-to-day government management and is widely seen as his “fuse” when the political chips are down. There had been speculation the reshuffle would be announced late last week. But no news emerged over the weekend, with Mr Macron reportedly weighing his options in seclusion at his residence of La Lanterne at the Palace of Versailles.
The president likes “keeping all options open until the last moment”, said a source close to the Elysée.
‘Supporters deem a reshuffle essential to breathe new life into his second five-year term’