Gabriel Attal

Gabriel Attal (French pronunciation: [ɡabʁijɛl atal]; born 16 March 1989) is a French politician of the Renaissance (RE) party who has been serving as prime minister of France since 9 January 2024.

After election to the French National Assembly in June 2017, he quickly rose through the political ranks, becoming a junior minister to the minister of national education and youth in 2018, Government Spokesperson in 2020, minister of public action and accounts in 2022 and minister of national education and youth in 2023.

On 9 January 2024, Attal was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron to replace Élisabeth Borne as prime minister. At the age of 34, he became the youngest and first openly gay person to hold the office in France, and the youngest serving state leader in the world. A political ally of Macron, he has been described as a potential contender for the 2027 presidential election as Macron is not eligible for a third term in office; the President of France is only allowed two five-year terms in office and Macron was elected twice in 2017 and 2022.

Attal was born on 16 March 1989 in Clamart, Île-de-France. He grew up in the 13th and 14th arrondissements (districts) of Paris with three sisters. His father, Yves Attal [fr], was a lawyer and film producer of half Tunisian Jewish descent (on the paternal side) and half Alsatian Jewish descent (on the maternal side). Attal's mother, Marie de Couriss, was of French and Greek-Russian ancestry, and worked as an employee of a film production company. Attal was raised in his mother's religion of Orthodox Christianity.

Attal attended a private school, the École alsacienne, in the 6th arrondissement. His political activity started when he participated in the 2006 youth protests in France. Taking up a place at Sciences Po in 2007, he created a committee for the support of Íngrid Betancourt, the Franco-Colombian hostage held by the FARC. He graduated from Sciences Po in 2012 with a Master of Public Affairs, having studied law at Panthéon-Assas University from 2008 to 2011, with a year (2009-2010) spent working with Éric de Chassey, director of the French Academy at Rome.

National advisory and municipal

After an internship at the French National Assembly with Marisol Touraine during the 2012 presidential campaign, Attal worked for five years as an advisor to the Minister of Health, a role which involved parliamentary liaison and speechwriting.

In the 2014 municipal elections, Attal was placed fifth on the Socialist Party list. He was elected as one of the four Socialist Party councilors of Vanves and took over the lead of the opposition, after the resignation of the head of the socialist list.

Member of the National Assembly (2017–2018)

Attal was elected to the French National Assembly on 18 June 2017, representing the Hauts-de-Seine's 10th constituency, winning out over the designated successor of André Santini.

Attal was quickly considered one of the most talented new members of parliament, with Amélie de Montchalin. As a deputy of the National Assembly he became a member of the Committee on Cultural and Education Affairs, where he served as whip of the group La République En Marche!.

In December 2017, Attal was appointed rapporteur on a bill on access to higher education.

Attal was named spokesperson of La République En Marche! in January 2018 and in September 2018, after the election of Richard Ferrand to the presidency of the National Assembly, he ran as a candidate to succeed him as president of the group La République En Marche!, but withdrew his candidacy the day before the election when he was considered one of the three favourites. He later endorsed Roland Lescure.

Member of the Government (2018–2024)

On 16 October 2018, Attal was appointed Secrétaire d'État (junior minister) to the Minister of National Education and Youth Jean-Michel Blanquer. At 29, he was the youngest member of a government under the Fifth Republic, beating the previous record set by François Baroin in 1995 by a few months. He was responsible for youth issues and setting up universal national service.

He was the government spokesperson under Prime Minister Jean Castex from 2020 to 2022. He became Minister of Public Action and Accounts in the government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne in May 2022.

In July 2023, Attal was appointed minister of national education and youth in the 2023 French government reshuffle. At the age of 34, he became the youngest person to hold that office under the Fifth Republic. In this position, he announced the ban on abayas under the "principle of secularism", extening a ban on religious symbols in French public schools that already included Christian crosses, Jewish Kippahs and Islamic veils.

Prime minister

Following Borne's resignation as prime minister on 8 January 2024, media sources announced Attal as favourite to succeed her. His appointment as Prime Minister was announced on 9 January 2024. At the age of 34, he became the youngest and first openly gay person to hold the office in France.

There has been speculation in the French media that Attal could be a contender in the 2027 presidential election.

Attal previously lived in a civil union with Stéphane Séjourné, a member of the European Parliament for LREM. The relationship had ended by 2024. Attal said in a TV interview that he had been subjected to homophobic bullying at school. In 2018, he was outed on Twitter by his former classmate Juan Branco. He has also described being the target of homophobic and antisemitic hate speech on social media as a politician.