It is almost 2:30 p.m. this Tuesday, January 9, when Gabriel Atttal slowly advances towards rue de Varenne. At 34, Matignon offered himself to him, promising to write him in history as the youngest prime minister of the Ve Republic. It’s an end to the endless “ waiting bubble » in which, according to their words, the members of the cabinet of rue de Grenelle were locked up.
When it was time to officially take up his duties, Gabriel Attal held his speech with a trembling hand, as if dizzy. He warned in a phone call the boss of the presidential Renaissance party, his former companion, Stéphane Séjourné, before any other political leader, of this dazzling promotion, six months after his appointment to the Ministry of National Education. Hasn’t Gabriel Attal just set foot in “hell”, the nickname of Matignon, a house capable of crushing promising popularity and thwarting presidential ambitions, such as those of Jacques Chaban-Delmas in 1974 or Edouard Balladur in 1995? ?
The thirty-year-old, supposed to embody in the eyes of the President of the Republic the “Macron generation”, according to the Elysée formula, as there was a “Mitterrand generation”, believes in his star. “The youngest President of the Republic in history has appointed the youngest Prime Minister in history”, he says alongside Elisabeth Borne resigned to joining the benches of the National Assembly as a deputy for Calvados. Making his youth a pledge “audacity”Gabriel Attal promises to take “at Matignon the cause of the school”, there “ mother of all battles »he said, thinking with this formula to remedy the frustration of professors stunned by his hasty departure from the ministry.
Repeating the “ gratitude ” that he feels towards the head of state, he responds to those who question the meaning of his appointment by setting himself up as “symbol of the confidence placed in youth, this generation which deserves to be fought for tirelessly”and points out his concern for the middle classes, “ Beating heart ” of the country, who work but “can’t be found there anymore”. Then concluded his speech with a word for the oppositions, which his predecessor had often castigated. “I tell them that we have the destiny of our Nation in common,” he says, before heading off to Pas-de-Calais to support the families affected by the floods.
“Solidarity of sailors”
In the evening, Emmanuel Macron awaits him at the Elysée to work on a new government team, expected in the days to come. Before 11 p.m., Gérald Darmanin, undermined by the fiasco of the immigration law which tore the presidential camp apart at the end of December 2023, announced through his office that he was “ assured » to stay at Place Beauvau. On the other hand, the ministers who, during the adoption of this text voted by the far right, expressed their discomfort, like Clément Beaune (transport), are worried. “Emmanuel Macron thinks that in times of storm, it is better to have the solidarity of sailors”we snap at the Elysée.
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