French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as France's youngest ever Prime Minister as he seeks to head off a Far Right challenge in European elections.
The age of the new PM was immediately a talking point across France.
If you add the age of the French president (46) to the age of the French Prime Minister (34), the result is less than the age of Joe Biden (81).
— Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) January 9, 2024
"If you add the age of the French president (46) to the age of the French Prime Minister (34), the result is less than the age of Joe Biden (81)," said former French ambassador to America Gérard Araud.
The move to reboot Mr Macron's presidency will not necessarily lead to any major political shift.
But it signals a desire for Mr Macron to try to move beyond last year's unpopular pension and immigration reforms by focusing on new priorities, including reaching full employment.
Gabriel Attal, 34 (left) is France's new Prime Minister - the country's youngest ever. 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/P1Rl84w8MN
— Peter Allen (@peterallenparis) January 9, 2024
The new prime minister will also be tasked with trying to improve Mr Macron's centrist party's chances in the June EU elections.
Opinion polls show them trailing Far Right leader Marine Le Pen by around eight to ten percentage points.
Mr Macron, who has struggled to deal with a more turbulent parliament since losing his absolute majority shortly after being reelected in 2022, announced on Monday that Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne was resigning.
Education Minister Mr Attal, a close Macron ally who became a household name after being appointed government spokesman during the Covid pandemic, was widely cited by political sources and French media as a strong favourite to replace Borne.
His appointment was confirmed shortly after midday, French time, and Mr Attal at 34 became France's youngest prime minister, and the first to be openly gay.
Once a member of France's socialist party before joining Mr Macron, Mr Attal was a junior finance minister and became education minister in 2023, making a name for himself as one of Macron's most savvy ministers, at ease on radio shows and in parliament.
"If it is indeed Gabriel Attal, it was the best card the president could play," Ifop pollster Jerome Fourquet told BFM TV before the appointment, pointing to his popularity, which he said Mr Attal gained thanks to taking quick action as education minister, and through his communication skills.
Opposition leaders were quick to say they did not expect much from the change in prime minister.
"Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal or someone else, I don't care, it will just be the same policies," Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told France Inter radio.
Mr Macron and Rishi Sunak have significantly improved Anglo-French relations after a series of Brexit bust-ups under the premierships of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
