French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as PM on Tuesday in a bid to give his administration fresh impetus.
Attal, 34, becomes the first and youngest openly gay head of state in France.
After days of conjecture, Elisabeth Borne, 62, resigned yesterday along with the entire cabinet, having held the position for less than two years. Macron accepted her resignation.
The changes are made in front of the summer European Parliament elections and the Olympic Games in Paris, where Macron’s centrist forces run the risk of losing to Marine Le Pen’s far-right party.
“The President of the republic appointed Mr Gabriel Attal Prime Minister, and tasked him with forming a government,” a presidential statement said.
Attal is expected to usher in a significant shift in the style of the prime minister’s office after Borne, the second woman to head the French government.
Following Borne’s retirement on Monday, Attal’s appointment was anticipated, and the lack of a prompt announcement fueled rumours that powerful government leaders were dissatisfied with Attal’s rapid rise in the ranks.
Sources close to the people allegedly responsible for the tensions, such as Bruno Le Maire, the minister of finance, and Gerald Darmanin, the minister of interior, strongly denied this.
