Who is Gabrel Gabriel Attal, France's young, openly gay prime minister livemint read 09 Jan 2024, 07:00 PM IST

 

Gabriel Attal, a member of the Socialist Party, gained political recognition as government spokesman during the pandemic and shared his experience of being bullied in a recent TV interview.

French Secretary of State and Government's spokesperson Gabriel Attal was appointed French Prime Minister on January 9, 2024, the presidency announced. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

Ahead of the European Parliament elections, French President Emmanual Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as the new prime minister of the country. The 34-year-old Gabriel is not only the youngest prime minister of the country but is also the first-ever openly gay PM of France. 

He is known to be a rising star of French politics as he takes on the role after a bruising year for Macron who saw opposition in the country over pensions and immigration schemes.

Five things to know about Gabriel Attal

-Gabriel Attal will be the youngest prime minister of France since the founding of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, CNN reported. Moreover, he will be the first openly gay man to serve as the country's second-most powerful politician.

-He is replacing Elisabeth Borne, who resigned from her post on Monday. Elisabeth Borne's resignation has come after a tumultuous 20-month tenure marred by an unpopular decision to raise the retirement age and urban riots over the summer after police shot and killed a teenage boy of Algerian descent, as per CNN.

-In his political career, Gabriel has served as France's Minister of Education and National Youth since July 2023. He never shied away from making unpopular decisions. The ban on wearing of the Muslim Abaya in French public schools was one of his controversial decisions during his tenure. The move helped him earn popularity among conservative voters despite his hailing from the left.

-He joined the Socialist Party at the age of 17 and became a household name in French politics after being named government spokesman during the pandemic. 

-Recently, one of his TV interviews became popular in which he was sharing his experience of being bullied by his peers at middle school. He shared how he was shamed by other fellows on a blog created to rate classmates' physiques during the early days of the Internet revolution.