New year, new face. France's youngest-ever president has named the country's youngest-ever prime minister. We ask why Emmanuel Macron chose to replace Élisabeth Borne with Gabriel Attal and chart the meteoric rise of a 34-year-old Parisian who has already enjoyed stints as city councillor, party spokesperson, budget minister, government spokesperson and most recently, education minister.
This being France, with so much power concentrated inside the gates of the presidential palace, the title of prime minister does not carry the same clout as perhaps elsewhere in Europe. With a minority government in parliament and polling in the doldrums, how much will the term-limited Macron micromanage the most charismatic head of government France has seen in a long while?
Their first test is to come up with a compelling narrative that can counter the far-right, where Marine Le Pen has an even younger party leader, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, who for now tops all polls for June's European elections. For a Macron who sometimes seems to lay claim to the title of president of Europe, a new record result for the far- ight would not be a great look.
Produced by Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati, Peter Hutt-Sierra and Imen Mellaz.
