Gabriel Attal, the new French Prime Minister, in Paris in 2018 (Photo: Reuters).
On January 9, Mr. Attal became France's youngest Prime Minister at the age of 34 and the first openly gay leader of the European government.
It was a remarkable rise, even for someone with Mr Attal's privileged background, according to the Guardian .
During the early years of President Emmanuel Macron's term, Mr. Attal was one of the highly educated young men assigned to advise and support the young French leader.
Mr. Attal stands out for his willingness to speak out in public on any issue that comes his way, as well as for his charming way of speaking. His outstanding communication skills and quick responses to the French National Assembly have earned the new French Prime Minister the nickname "The Sniper of Words."
Mr Attal was born to Yves Attal, a Tunisian-born Jewish lawyer and film producer who died in 2015, and Marie de Couriss, originally from Odesa, Ukraine. He grew up in Paris with three younger sisters.
The new prime minister attended the École Alsacienne, a private school in Paris favored by many prominent parents in the political and artistic worlds. After graduating from high school, he attended the prestigious Sciences Po University, earning a master's degree in public affairs.
Friends say Mr Attal first became interested in politics after attending a protest against Jean-Marie Le Pen as the far-right leader made it to the final round of the 2002 presidential election. He joined the Socialist Party in 2006 and supported its presidential candidate in the 2007 election.
In 2012, after an internship in the office of Health Minister Marisol Touraine, the mother of a classmate, Mr. Attal began working full-time at the agency at the age of 23.
Ms. Touraine commented that this "intelligent, perceptive" young man will have "a great career and a bright future".
In 2016, he left the Socialist Party to join Mr Macron's centrist En March party, the predecessor of La République En Marche (LREM).
Mr. Gabriel Attal left the Socialist Party in 2016 to support Mr. Emmanuel Macron's presidential campaign (Photo: AFP/Getty).
"Unstoppable" speed of advancement
Since then, Mr. Attal has risen rapidly in politics at an "unstoppable" pace, according to the Guardian .
At the age of 29, Mr. Attal was appointed Secretary of State for Education, becoming the youngest cabinet member under the French Fifth Republic.
He then held a number of senior positions, including head of LREM, government spokesman, budget minister, and education minister. He was elected to the French Parliament in June 2023.
France's first openly gay prime minister, Mr Attal is in a civil union with Mr Stéphane Séjourné, 38, a member of the European Parliament and secretary general of the ruling party, now called Renaissance.
Over the past 10 years, Mr. Attal's political stance appears to have shifted from center-left to center-right.
In 2018, in the face of strikes by staff at the national rail company SNCF, Mr Attal said France had to “get rid of the culture of strikes”. He also criticised students who were protesting against education reforms as “selfish”.
Through the decision to appoint a new Prime Minister, President Macron wants to rely on Mr. Attal's youth, dynamism and ambition to energize the government weakened by the lack of a majority in the French Parliament, as well as to call for support from a generation of disillusioned young voters ahead of European elections.
According to a recent poll conducted by Elabe for Les Échos newspaper, 36% of respondents believe that Mr. Attal would be suitable for the position of Prime Minister.
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