Gabriel Attal is appointed Prime Minister and succeeds Elisabeth Borne at Matignon. The transfer of power is expected with two speeches which will be scrutinized: Borne’s goodbyes and the entry of the 34-year-old politician who must now compose his government.
The essential
- The reshuffle is underway. Gabriel Attal is the new Prime Minister appointed this Tuesday, January 9, the day after the resignation of Elisabeth Borne.
- A broader reshuffle with the composition of a new government could follow quickly, perhaps within a few days.
- With the reshuffle, some ministers could be pushed out. Ministers opposed to the immigration law, like Clément Beaune or Rima Abdul-Malak, would be in an ejection seat. As well as Agnès Firmin Le Bodo appointed on an interim basis to Health. Other cases like that of Olivier Dussopt (Labor) and Gérald Darmanin (Interior) raise questions.
Live
1:23 p.m. – A transfer of power planned for 2:30 p.m. in Matignon
Elisabeth Borne will pass the torch of head of government to Gabriel Attal this Tuesday afternoon around 2:30 p.m., according to information from BFMTV. The former Prime Minister and her successor are both expected to give a speech in the courtyard of the Matignon hotel.
1:21 p.m. – Gabriel Attal traveling to Pas-de-Calais today or tomorrow
Immediately appointed, immediately on the ground? Gabriel Attal will make a first trip as Prime Minister between today and tomorrow according to information from BFMTV. The head of government will go to Pas-de-Calais, a disaster-stricken department where Elisabeth Borne was due to go this Tuesday. Gabriel Attal will therefore go for the same reasons as those which justified the trip of his predecessor, namely to evoke “solutions” after new floods.
13:19 – Macron risks “taking Gabriel Attal with him in his fall,” says Jordan Bardella
“By appointing Gabriel Attal to Matignon, Emmanuel Macron wants to cling to his poll popularity to ease the pain of an interminable end to his reign. Rather, he risks taking the short-lived Minister of National Education with him in his fall,” wrote the president of the National Rally on X.
13:11 – For Manuel Bompard, “the macronie is turning in on itself” with the appointment of Gabriel Attal
Like his colleagues from La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard reacted to the appointment of the new Prime Minister by calling for a vote of confidence in the Assembly. “Already in the minority, the macronie is withdrawing into itself,” said the LFI coordinator. For the latter, with Gabriel Attal, Emmanuel Macron promotes the “responsible for the “parcoursup” fiasco, concealer of the Benalla affair and minister of budgetary austerity.”
1:04 p.m. – A breakfast between Macron and Attal this morning
Gabriel Attal spoke with Emmanuel Macron this Tuesday morning, for a breakfast which lasted two hours according to information from BFMTV. During this meeting, the Head of State would have discussed the hot topics of the moment and those to come with his new head of government. The two men would also have discussed the broad outlines of the policy to be pursued in the coming months while significant challenges await the executive, starting with the European elections and the organization of the Olympic Games.
12:59 – François Ruffin fears action “for the benefit of the powerful”
“Around twenty of 49.3, a forced pension reform against the citizens, against the unions, against the Assembly: Elisabeth Borne has fulfilled her function well. It is up to Gabriel Attal to continue the Macronist work, always for the benefit of the powerful, against people’s lives. But let’s remember: all tortures, even the longest, always have an end” reacted the France Insoumise MP in a tweet.
12:56 – Prime Minister at 34, a record under the Fifth Republic
While he was already the youngest in the government; Gabriel Attal arrives at Matignon at only 34 years old. He thus became the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic and broke the record held by Laurent Fabius, who entered Matignon at the age of 37 in 1984 under François Mitterrand.
12:50 – Eric Ciotti asks Gabriel Attal to put an end to “at the same time”
The boss of the Republicans congratulated Gabriel Attal after his appointment to Matignon but he wishes to see a change in policy with this new government which, according to him, must mark “the end of the same time”. “France urgently needs action: it needs another method. Permanent communication must give way to a policy of clarity and firmness” he added on X.
12:47 – For the RN, Attal is appointed to Matignon “thanks to Bardella”
“Appointed Prime Minister because, and thanks to, Jordan Bardella. The Attal government is the last chapter, the epilogue of a double five-year term which will remain as a crucial waste of time for France and the French. The post- Macron has started,” National Rally spokesperson Laure Lavalette has just posted on X.
12:44 – Macron’s message to his new Prime Minister
While the appointment of Gabriel Attal was made by press release, Emmanuel Macron made the event official on X by sending a message to his Prime Minister.
Dear @GabrielAttal, I know I can count on your energy and your commitment to implement the rearmament and regeneration project that I announced. In fidelity to the spirit of 2017: surpassing and audacity. In the service of the Nation and the French.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 9, 2024
12:40 – Renaissance welcomes the appointment of Gabriel Attal
Joy at Renaissance. Sylvain Maillard, the president of the presidential party group in the National Assembly, welcomes the appointment of Gabriel Attal to Matignon. “I am sure that you will be able to faithfully carry out our project and embody the values which are ours”, he wrote on X. And the elected official added: “The Renaissance deputies will be loyal and demanding allies to respond to the challenges of our country and continue to reform, for the French”.
12:37 – Attal signs the end of senior civil servant appointments at Matignon
After Edouard Philippe, Jean Castex and Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal is the first tenant of Matignon de l’Air Macron not to have a career as a high-ranking civil servant behind him. It thus contrasts with the very technical profile that his previous heads of government had and is a sign that the head of state has opted for a more political profile. The thirty-year-old actually rose through the ranks over the elections, serving as a municipal councilor and deputy before joining the government in different positions and going from Secretary of State to Minister and now Prime Minister.
12:33 – Jean-Luc Mélenchon targets the young age of the Prime Minister
Jean-Luc Mélenchon reacted to the appointment of Gabriel Attal this Tuesday, on the social network whose princes are children”, wrote the leader of France Insoumise, after the officialization of Gabriel Attal as Prime Minister.
12:30 – Gabriel Attal and the government puzzle
Gabriel Attal, who is now head of government, must form his government team in the coming hours. Several questions are already being asked: who will succeed him in National Education? Will Gérald Darmanin and Bruno Le Maire leave the executive, submit to the direction of the young politician or move to more autonomous ministries?
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Who will settle in Matignon?
After a week of rumors about the departure of the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne submitted her resignation to Emmanuel Macron at the end of the day on Monday January 8. A departure which does not seem to be wanted by the sixty-year-old but rather driven by the President of the Republic as his resignation letter suggests: “Mr. President of the Republic, you have informed me of your desire to appoint a new Prime Minister”.
Elisabeth Borne having left her position, the time has come to appoint her replacement. On the evening of Sunday January 7 and more seriously on January 8, the hypothesis of a nomination of Gabriel Attal to Matignon holds the rope. The Minister of Education is presented as the favorite ahead of the previously mentioned names of the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and the former Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie. If other rumors have circulated, such as that about the appointment of Richard Ferrand, they have been dismissed.
Who are the ministers in the hot seat?
On the side of the ministers in danger are those nicknamed the “rebels” for their opposition to the immigration law: Clément Beaune (Transport), Rima Abdul-Malak (Culture), Patrice Vergriete (Housing), Sylvie Retailleau (Higher Education) and Roland Lescure (Industry). We must also cite the Minister of Health Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, appointed interim after the resignation of Aurélien Rousseau, who is the subject of an investigation for having received gifts from a pharmaceutical laboratory without declaring them as part of her profession as a pharmacist. Catherine Colonna based at the Quai d’Orsay would also be in the hot seat according to The Parisian.
The case of the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, raises questions. The man is due to stand trial in his favoritism trial on January 17. The head of state could want to part ways without waiting for the verdict or, on the contrary, keep the minister, who benefits from the presumption of innocence, within the government, at the risk of having to replace him at the end of January.
Which ministers could change portfolio?
Some ministers could remain within the executive, but land in different functions. In the game of musical chairs Sébastien Lecornu is in the lead since he could, according to persistent rumors, go from Minister of the Armed Forces to Prime Minister. The hypothesis is also raised for the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.
At the Ministry of the Interior, someone other than Gérald Darmanin could take over according to some rumors. The “first cop in France”, weakened after the vote on the immigration law, would like to leave Beauvau for the Quai d’Orsay. But a replacement at the Interior seems difficult a few months before the Paris Olympic Games.
If he remains in the government Olivier Dussopt could also move, he who would be interested in the Ministry of the Armed Forces according to The Parisian.