It all started with a photo.
That of Gabriel Attal sitting on the steps of Matignon, his head bowed towards his puppy, a little chow chow called Volta.
In this photo posted on the Prime Minister's Instagram account, Sunday February 11, the politician swapped his trusty suit and tie for a
casual
outfit (read, casual).
In this case, he is wearing straight blue jeans, white sneakers from the Autry brand, as well as an immaculate t-shirt worn under a navy blue overshirt.
In short, the ordinary paraphernalia of a thirty-year-old Parisian.
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“How can you dress like that?”
With this publication, Gabriel Attal originally wanted to close the debate after being surprised this week in the National Assembly showing the photo of a puppy on his smartphone to the ministers present around him.
Except that his Sunday look added to the initial message and made the day of many slanderers, often from the ranks of the extreme right.
“The Prime Minister publishes this photo at the Hôtel de Matignon.
How can one dress like this in such functions?
Even in private with those around him,” protests Emmanuel de Villiers, brother of the sovereignist and founder of Puy-du-Fou Philippe de Villiers, in a tweet.
Then to add: “Where is the credibility of the State?”
“That’s the problem when we put teenagers in power…” retorts someone named Éric Massaud.
“He's playing the role of the 'normal' prime minister,” says business leader Arnaud Humbert, elected to the national council of Reconquête!, Eric Zemmour's party.
Publicity stunt or not, a certain Sylvain Rancien, “municipal elected official” if we are to believe his bio on
Even though Gabriel Attal is the youngest tenant of Matignon in the Fifth Republic.
“Not new and certainly not revolutionary communication,” notes the Internet user, revealing in passing a vintage photo of Jacques Chirac, headphones on, in jeans, sweatshirt and sneakers.
Sometimes casual, sometimes conventional
If this latest outfit by Gabriel Attal provokes a reaction, it is also because to establish oneself in political stature, clothing has its role to play.
In the Attal case, it must be synonymous with youth (his age is his strength), but also with a certain authority (which he lacks a little more).
Gone is the image of the “first in class” which sometimes still sticks too closely to him.
At
Madame Figaro
, Pascal Monfort, head of the trend marketing consultancy REC, deciphered the Gabriel Attal style at the time of his appointment to Matignon at the beginning of January.
“He tries not to overplay the politician, he doesn’t adopt the look of today’s brilliant businessmen.”
The expert even drew a parallel here with Mark Zuckerberg, 39, known for having broken dress codes in a world of busy men stuck in a suit and tie.
The sartorial evolution of Gabriel Attal
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow08 photos
See the slideshow08 photos
The fact remains that Gabriel Attal's style has always been casual.
We remember his appearance when he joined, in 2016, Emmanuel Macron in his “En Marche!” movement.
The blazer jacket is navy blue, but in a comfortable fit.
The shirt is denim.
Suit pants replaced by camel chinos.
Then, as the years pass and his responsibilities evolve, the colorful ties and unbuttoned shirts will eventually disappear in favor of a well-tailored suit (navy, gray or black most of the time) and 'a sober tie.
The fact remains that, like the President of the Republic, the young Prime Minister still allows himself to vacillate between the relaxed and the conventional.