Gabriel Attal: Who is France's youngest ever prime minister tipped to replace Macron?

Gabriel Attal has become France's youngest ever prime minister at the age of 34. It's been a meteoric rise that has invoked comparisons with his mentor President Emmanuel Macron, who became France's youngest ever president at the age of 39.

He is also the country's first openly gay French premier whose most pressing task will be to ensure that Macron's centrist forces overcome the far-right - first in European elections in June and then in presidential polls in 2027.

Attal's more combative style is likely to be a contrast to that of his predecessor Elisabeth Borne, 62, a technocratic figure more comfortable behind the scenes than with the cut and thrust of soundbite politics.

He breaks the previous record held by Laurent Fabius, who was named premier by Francois Mitterrand aged 37 in 1984.

French media have even speculated that Attal could succeed Macron at the Elysee Palace in 2027 when the French president hits his term limit.

"Gabriel Attal, a new Macron?" said the French weekly Le Point in September. Known for his confidence and suave looks, Attal has proved himself to be one of the most ambitious ministers in Macron's government.

But despite his relative inexperience, he has earned a reputation as a firm and decisive figure.

Attal is the most popular character in government, with more than a third backing his appointment as prime minister, according to an Odoxa survey.

"Youth, public opinion and the real or potential capacity to lead the European election campaign made the difference" in the choice, said a source close to the presidency.

"He is popular, young, and he is someone created from scratch by Macron," added a minister, who asked not to be named.

From teenager to the top

Attal joined the Socialist Party aged 17 and has quickly risen through the ranks, shifting to Macron's new centrist movement when it was founded in 2016.

He was elected to France's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, in 2017, and became a household name as government spokesperson during COVID. He was then appointed budget minister before becoming education minister in July - one of the most high-profile and politically sensitive government posts.

Tackling bullying is one of his top priorities after a series of high-profile suicides of schoolchildren in recent years. Attal recently opened up on a famous TV show about about how he was bullied in middle school by a former classmate, who he said shamed him on a blog created to rate classmates' physiques during the early days of the Internet revolution.

WATCH: Analysis of the rise of Gabriel Attal

To fight the problem, he teamed up with French First Lady Brigitte Macron, a former teacher, who takes a strong personal interest in the issue.

But his most high-profile move came less than two months into his job when he banned pupils from wearing the abaya, a loose-fitting garment from the shoulders to the feet worn by Muslim women.

"It will no longer be possible to wear an abaya at school," he said. "Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school."

Attal's decision has sparked a debate about France's secular rules and whether they are used to discriminate against the country's large Muslim minority. The move was also seen by many as a ploy to appease conservatives and raise Attal's public profile.

As budget minister, he also used his media savvy to defend Macron's hugely controversial pension reform.

The son of a film producer, Attal grew up in Paris and went to the Ecole Alsacienne, a private school in the heart of the capital, before graduating from the equally elitist Sciences Po university. 

Attal, whose father was Jewish, said he had experienced both anti-Semitism and homophobia. He has said in an interview that he is "Russian Orthodox through my mother."

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Away from politics, Attal has also been open about his sexuality. France's first openly gay prime minister was outed by an old school associate in 2018 when he was named a junior minister during Macron's first mandate. At the time, he was in a relationship with Stephane Sejourne, Macron's former political adviser.

After appointing his new prime minister, Macron wrote on social media: "Dear Gabriel Attal, I know I can count on your energy and commitment to implement the project of revitalization and regeneration that I announced."

Widespread public discontent over surging living costs and last year's contested pension reform have seriously hit Macron's ratings and his chances in the EU ballot, where his party trails badly behind Marine Le Pen's far-right. 

"I'm well aware of the context in which I take on this job," Attal said. "Too many French doubt our country, doubt themselves or our future. I think in particular of the middle class, who get up every morning to go to work, and sometimes can't make ends meet." He promised to work to "control our destiny and free up France's potential."

Macron will be desperate for a large dose of "revitalization and regeneration" from his new recruit.

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