Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella embody in their respective camps a new popular generation, ready to take up the torch.
One is 34 years old and he is Prime Minister. The other is 28 years old and he is the president of the National Rally. Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella stand out as the two direct heirs of their camp. At the same time, they are the perfect reflection of the duel formed by their masters, the eternal Macron-Le Pen. Young, popular, archetypal portrait of their respective electorates, the two political adversaries are much more alike than they dare to admit.
They met for the first time on a Paris-Marseille flight, shortly before the 2022 presidential campaign, reports Le Figaro. The opportunity for a long discussion between the two men who are only six years apart. Subsequently, they found themselves face to face five times in a few months on television sets, campaigning for their respective candidate.
Both experienced a meteoric political rise. To the point of landing their current position under the noses of their elders. Both embodies the archetype of their camp trait for trait: Gabriel Attal is the child of a good family, from a perfect educational background. He cut his teeth in ministerial offices, in the ranks of a traditional party, the PS. Opposite him, Jordan Bardella comes from a modest background, he stopped his studies early and spent his entire career in the National Rally.
However, between the two, there is “a mutual respect, a generational trust too”, in the words of the young president of the RN, on the Cyril Hanouna set in April 2022. “We agree on almost nothing on the background, but that does not prevent us from respecting each other as people,” added Gabriel Attal. Both have grasped the codes of cordial debate and recognized their opponent as an equal.
In a political world where youth is not yet well accepted, Attal and Bardella have a common battle. If one can prove that their age is not an obstacle, the other will always emerge stronger. “The appointment of Attal is a good deal for Bardella,” concludes a Socialist Party figure to Le Figaro: “Age is no longer a subject and they are going to make short work of it. Anything that can give the impression of bipolarization is to their advantage.”
