On Jan. 9, Gabriel Attal ascended to the position of Prime Minister of France. President Emmanuel Macron appointed Attal, France’s Education Minister at the time, to the premiership. 

Attal takes office following the resignation of his predecessor Elisabeth Borne, who had served as Prime Minister since May 2022. Borne’s resignation came after she struggled to pass immigration legislation in the French parliament.  

Attal is France’s youngest Prime Minister ever at 34 years old. Attal is also the first openly gay prime minister in France’s history. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Attal served as a government spokesperson. This role exposed him to the public, eventually leading to his appointment as Junior Finance Minister and, later, Education Minister.

Polling shows Attal is currently Macron’s most popular minister. Still, without a majority in parliament, Attal will have to compromise to tackle issues such as immigration, pensions and an overall distrust of the government by many French people.