The announcement of the appointment of Gabriel Attal to Matignon, unsurprisingly, caused a strong reaction in the press in France, but also abroad. Here’s what comes out of it.
Gabriel Attal, 34, once government spokesperson but also Minister of National Education for five months, will take over at Matignon, after the announcement of Élisabeth Borne’s departure on Monday. The information was made official at midday on Tuesday January 9, 2024. Very quickly, the media did not fail to analyze this appointment, as well as the profile of the new Prime Minister. If the Belgian radio RTBF speaks of a “new lease of life in Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term”, it nevertheless highlights a “late” appointment, estimating that “it took time to convince the allies of the presidency”, and this, even though Gabriel Attal is a long-time traveling companion of Emmanuel Macron and enjoys a certain popularity.
Like most foreign and French media, RTBF also points out his young age, Gabriel Attal thus becoming the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic, and highlights his open homosexuality. The age of the new Prime Minister is also highlighted by the British daily The Guardian, which headlines “the youngest French Prime Minister in modern history”, and the Spanish daily El Païs, which goes so far as to speak of ‘”child prodigy of French politics”. In the same tone, the Swiss daily Le Temps estimates that the student “has surpassed his master, Emmanuel Macron, in terms of precocity.” Referring, however, to a “surprise” appointment, the daily salutes the “meteoric rise” of this “charismatic” minister.
Many media outlets also focus on the private life of the new French Prime Minister, and more particularly his sexual orientation. “The first openly gay man to hold this position, which will make him one of the most prominent and powerful LGBTQ politicians in the world,” notes the American 24-hour news channel CNN, while the Italian daily La Repubblica headlines “34 years old, gay and anti-Salvini”, also further evoking a “baby-Macron”. Just like La Reppublica, Al Jazeera, the most watched channel in the Arab world, highlights the position of the new French Prime Minister on the wearing of the abaya, this long traditional dress covering the entire body and from the Gulf countries, thus recalling that he is at the origin of its ban in schools.
Finally, the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo assures: the arrival of Gabriel Attal at Matignon “will not necessarily lead to a major political change, but it testifies to Macron’s desire to overcome the crisis caused by the unpopular measures” taken in 2023, including pension reform and the immigration law.
