Gabriel Attal, 34, becomes France’s youngest prime minister

Gabriel Attal has been named as France’s youngest prime minister, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right (Francois Mori/AP)

Gabriel Attal has been named as France’s youngest prime minister, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right.

Mr Macron’s office announced the appointment in a statement. Mr Attal, 34, rose to prominence as the government spokesman and education minister.

He is France’s first openly gay prime minister.

His predecessor Elisabeth Borne resigned on Monday following recent political turmoil over an immigration law that strengthens the government’s ability to deport foreigners.

Then French education and youth minister Gabriel Attal with President Emmanuel Macron (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

Mr Macron, a 46-year-old centrist whose term ends in 2027, is to name a government in the coming days.

France’s youngest president when he came to power in 2017 is to work with Mr Attal to name the new government, though some key ministers are expected to continue in their posts.

The president has shifted rightward on security and migration issues since rising to power on a pro-business centrist platform in 2017, notably as far-right rival Marine Le Pen and her anti-immigration, anti-Islam National Rally have gained political influence.

Mr Attal, a former member of the Socialist Party, joined Mr Macron’s newly created political movement in 2016 and was government spokesperson from 2020 to 2022, a job that made him well-known to the French public.

He was then named budget minister before being appointed in July as education minister, one of the most prestigious positions in the French government.

Mr Attal quickly announced a ban on long robes in classrooms which took effect with the new school year in September, saying the garments worn mainly by Muslims were testing secularism in the schools.

He also launched a plan to experiment with uniforms in some public schools, as part of efforts to move the focus away from clothes and reduce school bullying.

He recently detailed on national television TF1 how he suffered bullying at school, including homophobic harassment.

French opinion polls show he was the most popular minister in Ms Borne’s government.