Gabriel Attal
Gabriel Attal (born 16 March 1989) is a French politician of the Renaissance party who has served as Minister of National Education and Youth in the government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne since July 2023. He was the government spokesperson from 2020 to 2022 and Minister of Public Action and Accounts between 2022 and 2023 under President Emmanuel Macron.
Early life and education
Attal was born on 16 March 1989 in Clamart. He grew up in the 13th and 14th arrondissements (districts) of Paris with three sisters. His father, Yves Attal, was a lawyer and film producer of half Alsatian Jewish and half Tunisian Jewish descent, and his mother, Marie de Couriss, was of French and Greek-Russian ancestry and worked as an employee of a film production company.[2][3]
Attal attended a private school, the École alsacienne, in the 6th arrondissement. His political activity started when he participated in the 2006 youth protests in France.[4] Taking up a place at Sciences Po in 2007, he created a committee for the support of Íngrid Betancourt, the Franco-Colombian hostage held by the FARC.[5] He graduated from Sciences Po in 2012 with a Master of Public Affairs, having studied law at Panthéon-Assas University from 2008 to 2011, with a year (2009-2010) spent working with Éric de Chassey, director of the French Academy at Rome.[6]
After an internship at the French National Assembly with Marisol Touraine during the presidential campaign, Gabriel Attal worked for five years as an advisor to the Minister of Health, a role which involved parliamentary liaison and speechwriting.[7]
Political career
Member of the Municipal council of Vanves
In the 2014 municipal elections Attal was placed fifth on the Socialist Party list. He was elected as one of the four Socialist Party councilors of Vanves and took over the lead of the opposition, after the resignation of the head of socialist list.[8]
Member of the National Assembly
Attal was elected to the French National Assembly on 18 June 2017, representing the Hauts-de-Seine's 10th constituency, winning out over the designated successor of André Santini.[9]
Attal was quickly considered one of the most talented new members of parliament, with Amélie de Montchalin.[10] As a deputy of the National Assembly he became a member of the Committee on Cultural and Education Affairs, where he served as whip of the group La République En Marche!.[11]
In December 2017, Attal was appointed rapporteur on a bill on access to higher education.[12]
Attal was named spokesperson of La République En Marche! in January 2018[13] and in September 2018, after the election of Richard Ferrand to the presidency of the National Assembly, he ran as a candidate to succeed him as president of the group La République En Marche!, but withdrew his candidacy the day before the election when he was considered one of the three favourites.[14] He later endorsed Roland Lescure.[15]
Member of the Government
On 16 October 2018, Attal was appointed Secrétaire d'État (junior minister) to the Minister of National Education and Youth, Jean-Michel Blanquer. At 29, he was the youngest member of a government under the Fifth Republic, beating the previous record set by François Baroin in 1995 by a few months. He was responsible for youth issues and setting up universal national service.[10]
He was the government spokesperson under Prime Minister Jean Castex from 2020 to 2022.[16]
He became Minister of Public Action and Accounts in the government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne in May 2022.[17]
In July 2023, Attal was appointed Minister of National Education and Youth in the 2023 French government reshuffle.[18] Aged 34, he became the youngest person to hold that office under the Fifth Republic.[19]
On 27 August 2023, Attal announced a ban on the wearing of abayas (loose-fitting robes worn by some Muslim women) in state schools.[20]
Personal life
Attal is gay and lives in a civil union with Stéphane Séjourné, a member of the European Parliament for La République En Marche!.[21] In 2018, he was outed on Twitter by his former classmate Juan Branco.[1][22]
References
- Girard, Quentin (23 April 2019). "Gabriel Attal, de ses propres zèles" (in French). Libération. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- Mathilde Siraud (1 March 2023). "Gabriel Attal, sur les traces de Macron ?". lepoint.fr (in French)..
- Bancaud, Delphine (16 October 2018). "Qui est Gabriel Attal, le plus jeune membre d'un gouvernement de la Ve République?" [Who is Gabriel Attal, the youngest member of a government of the Fifth Republic?] (in French). 20 Minutes. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Laurent Telo (13 April 2018). "Du Parti socialiste à La République en marche, la mue fulgurante de Gabriel Attal" [From the Socialist Party to La République En Marche!, the dazzling transformation of Gabriel Attal]. Le Monde.fr (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Jeudy, Bruno (20 August 2018). "Gabriel Attal : "Le jour où je rencontre Ingrid Betancourt"" [Gabriel Attal: "The day I meet Ingrid Betancourt"] (in French). Paris Match. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Baudais, Pierrick (20 December 2017). "Qui est Gabriel Attal, le futur porte-parole de la République en marche?" [Who is Gabriel Attal, the future spokesperson for the Republic on the move?] (in French). Ouest-France. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- "Qui est Gabriel Attal, votre député (LREM) d'Issy-Vanves" [Who is Gabriel Attal, your deputy (LREM) of Issy-Vanves] (in French). Le Parisien. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Petitdemange, Amélie (16 October 2018). "Gabriel Attal: un vingtenaire débarque dans le gouvernement" [Gabriel Attal: a twenty-something arrives in the government] (in French). Les Échos. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- "Elections législatives 2017" (in French). Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- Lemarié, Alexandre (16 October 2018). "Gabriel Attal, Secretary of State at Blanquer" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Vigoureux, Caroline; Bertolus, Jean-Jérôme (13 September 2017). "Les whips, ces députés LREM de l'ombre au rôle stratégique" [The whips, these LREM deputies from the shadow to the strategic role] (in French). L'Opinion. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Stromboni, Camille; Lemarié, Alexandre (4 December 2017). "Gabriel Attal : « Il faudra être très vigilant sur la rentrée 2018 à l'université »" [Gabriel Attal: "It will be necessary to be very vigilant on the re-entry 2018 at the university"] (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ""Un honneur": le député Gabriel Attal sera le porte-parole de LREM en janvier" ["An honor": the MP Gabriel Attal will be the spokesperson of LREM in January] (in French). France Info. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Siraud, Mathilde (18 September 2018). "Présidence du groupe LaREM à l'Assemblée : Attal et Bonnell jettent l'éponge" [Presidency of the LREM Group in the Assembly: Attal and Bonnell throw in the towel] (in French). Le Figaro. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- Boichot, Loris (14 September 2018). "Qui sont les sept macronistes qui veulent diriger les députés LaREM après Ferrand?". Le Figaro.
- "Gouvernement Castex en direct : Darmanin nommé ministre de l'intérieur, Dupond-Moretti garde des sceaux et Bachelot à la culture". Le Monde (in French). 6 July 2020.
- Boiteau, Victor (20 May 2022). "Changement dans la continuité: Darmanin, Le Maire, Attal… Ces ministres qui remettent ça dans le gouvernement Borne" (in French). Libération. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- "Macron sacks education, health ministers in mini-reshuffle". Politico. 20 July 2023.
- "Gabriel Attal ministre de l'Éducation nationale, itinéraire d'un surdoué de la politique" (in French). HuffPost. 20 July 2023..
- "France to ban female students from wearing abayas in state schools". BBC News. 27 August 2023.
- Biseau, Grégoire (31 October 2021). "Stéphane Séjourné et Gabriel Attal, un couple au cœur du pouvoir" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- "Juan Branco a-t-il une "haine quasi-obsessionnelle" à l'endroit de Benjamin Griveaux ?" (in French). RFI. 18 February 2020.