PARIS, Jan 10, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - France's new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was 
on Wednesday choosing his cabinet team after his stunning promotion by 
President Emmanuel Macron to become the youngest French head of government. 

Attal, 34, will look along with Macron to choose a heavyweight cabinet that 
can take on the far-right under Marine Le Pen in June European elections and 
beyond, as well as dispelling any doubts he is too young for the job. 

Macron named Attal, who is also France's first openly gay premier, on Tuesday 
in place of Elisabeth Borne, seeking to recapture what the head of state 
termed the "spirit" of the president's own 2017 rise to power when he himself 
was just 39. 

His appointment was less than smooth, with Macron reportedly having to 
overcome objections from some cabinet ministers as well as key powerbrokers 
outside of cabinet, including ex-premier Edouard Philippe and presidential 
chief of staff Alexis Kohler. 

The Le Monde daily said his nomination had been "disputed". Left-leaning 
Liberation headlined "Macron prime minister", arguing that Attal will be left 
no room for manoeuvre by his mentor. 

Attal hailed his appointment as a symbol of "audacity" as he took over from 
Borne during an official ceremony at the prime minister's Matignon residence 
in Paris on Tuesday, his hands shaking on his papers amid the tension and 
cold. 

"France will never be synonymous with decline, France will be synonymous with 
transformation, France will be synonymous with audacity," he said. 

- Cabinet uncertainty - 

After a first official engagement to visit victims of floods in northern 
France, Attal returned to Paris for dinner with Macron to discuss the new 
government. It remains unclear when the new cabinet will be announced.

Sources close to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told AFP the powerful 41-
year-old had received assurances from Macron that he would stay in his post.

Darmanin, another young high-flyer, had received the biggest political 
setback of his career in December when an immigration bill was initially 
rejected in parliament.

The future of Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, the only top 
minister to have been post since Macron's election in 2017, was more 
uncertain with some sources wondering if he was eager to work under a man who 
was once a junior minister in his own department. 

There was also a question mark over the post of foreign minister, currently 
held by former ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna, while Transport 
Minister Clement Beaune, who in a previous role as Europe minister was a key 
figure in Brexit negotiations, was also seen at risk. 

Beaune and other left-leaning figures in the centrist government made clear 
their displeasure over the final text of the immigration bill when it 
eventually passed, reportedly leaving Macron furious. 

Attal will also need to find a replacement for his old job of education 
minister, one of the key posts in government which he held for less than half 
a year. 

Under the French system, the president sets general policies while the prime 
minister is responsible for day-to-day management and can often pay the price 
in case of turbulence. Attal is already the fourth prime minister less than 
seven years into the Macron administration. 

Commentators see the reshuffle as essential to relaunch Macron's centrist 
presidency for its last three years and prevent him becoming a "lame duck" 
leader after his party lost its overall majority in 2022 legislative 
elections. 

With Macron unable to run again in 2027, ministers have publicly aired 
concerns that Le Pen has her best chance yet to win the presidency. 

Attal will go toe-to-toe ahead of the European elections with another rising 
star of French politics, the even younger Jordan Bardella, 28, who is now 
party leader of Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN).