Attal government
44th Government of French Fifth Republic
Attal in 2023
Date formed9 January 2024 (2024-01-09)
People and organisations
President of the RepublicEmmanuel Macron
Prime MinisterGabriel Attal
Member parties
  •   RE
  •   MoDem
  •   HOR
Status in legislature
Opposition parties
History
Election(s)2022 French legislative election
Legislature term(s)
PredecessorBorne government

The Attal government (French: gouvernement Attal) is the forty-fourth and most recent government of the French Fifth Republic, formed on 9 January 2024 and headed by Gabriel Attal as Prime Minister under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.[1]

The Attal cabinet is a three-party minority government as a result of the 2022 legislative election that left the governing coalition short of an absolute majority in Parliament.

History

Formation

Context

In late December 2023, the passage of an immigration & asylum bill originating from a deal struck between Borne's minority government and the conservative LR party left Macron's governing coalition in political crisis, especially after some left-leaning ministers threatened to resign if the bill was passed, something which was seen as a major breach of collective responsibility, while scores of Macronist MPs defied the government by either abstaining or voting against the legislation.[2] Hours after the bill was passed, Health minister Aurélien Rousseau resigned in protest and Higher Education minister Sylvie Retailleau offered her resignation as well but President Macron refused it.[3] Others, such as Transport minister Clément Beaune, voiced their opposition to the bill but did not quit.[4]

As 2024 approached, news media began to speculate about a potential change of Prime minister in a last-ditch effort by Macron both to revive his second presidential term and reassert his diminished political authority.[5]

Élisabeth Borne's resignation

When Élisabeth Borne resigned as Prime minister on 8 January 2024, she made clear in her resignation letter that she was not doing so of her own initiative but rather to comply with President Macron's will to replace her with a new PM. In her letter, she also quoted a line from distant predecessor Michel Rocard's letter, a reference to the fact that, like him, she was compelled to resign by the President and that she would have wanted to carry on as head of government.[6]

Legal scholar Ariane Vidal-Naquet, in an op-ed in Le Monde, said that Borne's "forced resignation" was "not consistent with the Constitution" even though it is widely accepted under a presidential interpretation of the French Constitution.[7]

After Borne resigned on 8 January, she remained Prime minister in a caretaking capacity until handing over to Attal a day later.

Attal's appointment as PM

In the run-up to Gabriel Attal's appointment as Prime minister, news media cited several politicians as main contenders for the Premiership: Defense minister Sébastien Lecornu, former National Assembly President Richard Ferrand, former minister Julien Denormandie and Ecological Transition minister Christophe Béchu were among the names cited for Macron's pick.[8]

Hours before the appointment, when Attal emerged as the most likely pick for PM, several prominent figures inside Macron's camp, such as junior coalition partners François Bayrou (MoDem party leader) and Édouard Philippe (Horizons party leader and Macron's PM from 2017 to 2020) or Ministers such as Interior minister Gérald Darmanin and Finance minister Bruno Le Maire, reportedly opposed the pick and tried to weigh in on the presidential decision.[9]

Before being appointed as Prime minister, Attal was the most popular minister in Macron's cabinet according to polling data. Upon taking office, Attal became both the youngest head of government in French modern history and youngest state leader in the world. He is also the first openly LGBT person to lead a French government.

Choice for cabinet posts

The new Attal cabinet was widely described as the most right-leaning government since the start of the Macron Presidency: out of the 14 Cabinet ministers appointed on 11 January 2024 by Macron and Attal, 57% are former members of the conservative UMP/LR party.[10] Furthermore, right-leaning politicians are left holding the biggest government portfolios, such as the Interior, Finance, Defense, Labour, Health, Culture and Ecology ministries, a political configuration seen as indicating a tilt to the right.[11]

Additionally, longtime Macron allies and prominent left-leaning ministers of the outgoing Borne government, Rima Abdul-Malak (Culture), Clément Beaune (Transports), Stanislas Guerini (Civil Service) and Olivier Véran (Government Spokesperson), were sacked as part of the reshuffle.

Initial composition

As it is customary, Secretary General of the Presidency Alexis Kohler announced the new government's composition on 11 January 2024 from the Élysée Palace. Members of the previous government remained in office under a caretaking capacity until the appointment of the new government, as provided for in the French Constitution.

Ministers

Portfolio Name Party
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal RE
Minister of Economy, Finances and Industrial & Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire RE
Minister of the Interior and Overseas Gérald Darmanin RE
Minister of Labour, Health and Solidarity Catherine Vautrin SE [12]
Minister of National Education, Youth, Sport and the Olympic & Paralympic Games Amélie Oudéa-Castéra RE
Minister for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Marc Fesneau MoDem
Minister for Culture Rachida Dati SE [13]
Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu RE
Minister of Justice / Keeper of the Seals Éric Dupond-Moretti SE
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné RE
Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion Christophe Béchu HOR
Minister of Higher Education and Research Sylvie Retailleau SE
Deputy Ministers
Portfolio Attached minister Name Party
Minister for Democratic Renewal, Government Spokesperson Prime Minister Prisca Thevenot RE
Minister for Relations with Parliament Marie Lebec RE
Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Aurore Bergé RE

Civil service

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ Chrisafis, Angelique (2024-01-09). "Gabriel Attal appointed youngest French PM as Macron tries to revive popularity". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
    2. ↑ Caulcutt, Clea (2023-12-20). "Macron in crisis after immigration showdown". Politico. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    3. ↑ "French health minister resigns over Macron's controversial immigration law". Le Monde with AFP. 2023-12-20. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    4. ↑ "Immigration law: Clément Beaune did not resign despite his criticisms, he explains". Huffington Post (in French). 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    5. ↑ "After the immigration law, a reshuffle early 2024?". TF1 info (in French). 2023-12-24. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    6. ↑ ""As I must tender the resignation of my government", when Borne does a Rocard (and not for the 49.3)". Libération (in French). 2023-01-08. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    7. ↑ "Élisabeth Borne's resignation: "The behavior of political actors is inconsistent with what legal standards provide"". Le Monde (in French). 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    8. ↑ "Ministerial reshuffle: which contenders, what timetable? Here are the questions that arise". Sud Ouest (in French). 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    9. ↑ "Gabriel Attal at Matignon: behind the scenes of a disputed appointment". Le Monde (in French). 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
    10. ↑ "The reshuffle seen by the "left wing" of the macronie: "It's no longer pragmatism, it's prostitution"". Libération (in French). 2023-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
    11. ↑ "Attal government: macronism shifts to the right". Les Échos (in French). 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
    12. ↑ AFP (11 January 2024). "Remaniement : Catherine Vautrin, une transfuge de la droite expérimentée hérite du Travail, de la Santé et des Solidarités". Le Figaro. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
    13. ↑ AFP (11 January 2024). "France : Rachida Dati exclue de son parti LR après sa nomination à la Culture". Le Soir. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
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