Gabriel Attal, the good soldier named spokesperson

At 31 years old, the youngest of the government goes from the Universal National Service (SNU) to the government spokesperson. Secretary of State Gabriel Attal succeeded Sibeth Ndiaye on Monday evening. The transfer of power will take place Tuesday morning, before a first report by the Council of Ministers, scheduled for the afternoon. A change of natural post for this face known to the majority, as the elected representative of Hauts-de-Seine has established itself, since the beginning of the five-year term, as a tireless defender of the macronist cause.

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Before entering government, in October 2018, Gabriel Attal had already managed to emerge as one of the pillars of the group La République en Marche au Assemblée, to the point of running for president, before finally throwing the sponge. Up to now attached to the Ministry of Education with Jean-Michel Blanquer, Gabriel Attal now comes under the supervision of Matignon.

The former socialist has already tried the mission of spokesperson for the presidential party. His name had already circulated, at the time, to replace Benjamin Griveaux. On the evening of the defeat of the municipal elections, Gabriel Attal was one of the few members of the government, along with Sibeth Ndiaye, to have agreed to comment on the results on television. The mission he inherits is not easy: the position of government spokesperson, very exposed, requires a 360-degree knowledge of the files in progress.

This good student, educated at the École alsacienne and a graduate of Sciences Po Paris, will have to find his own style, embody the new impetus desired for the end of the mandate and this new government of "combat". At the start of the five-year term, Gabriel Attal had used the term "strikes" to refer to the movement of railway workers against pension reform, at the risk of hitting the majority.

Young Guard of the President

Up to now in charge of community life, the elected official had been responsible for building a "civic reserve" during confinement in order to put French volunteers in touch with people in need. This former adviser to Marisol Touraine at the Ministry of Health under Hollande's presidency pushed some iconoclastic proposals out of the health crisis. The ambitious youngster had, for example, appealed to large fortunes to participate in the surge of solidarity. The municipal councilor of Vanves is part of the young guard of Emmanuel Macron. Gabriel Attal considers himself on a "mission" to the President of the Republic.