By Danny Tye
In his debut piece for GAY45, editorial intern Danny Tye explores the rise and the complex emotions brought about by the appointment of Gabriel Attal, France’s first gay Prime Minister, to the French Premiership. Is this the straight-forward representation-politics victory that it has been celebrated as in the media, or does Attal’s track record spell potential problems for queer liberation in France?
Attal flanking French President Emmanuel Macron.
French politics has returned to international headlines this month with the appointment of a new Prime Minister, 34 year-old Gabriel Attal. While French media focussed principally on his youth –– Attal is the youngest person ever to serve as French Premier –– much of the discussion of his appointment worldwide centred on the repercussions of his status as France’s first gay Prime Minister. “Homophobes, gird your loins and clutch your pearls,” one American publication declared, “The gays are taking over the world!”
But how did Attal end up holding the reins of power? He had spent 10 years as a member of Parti Socialiste when he jumped ship to Macron’s liberal-centrist big tent party Renaissance – then known as En Marche! – in 2016. Soon after, he was elected to the National Assembly, rising to the position of Secretary of State for National Education and Youth in 2018, becoming minister for the same portfolio last year. His whirlwind ascendancy through the ranks of the Fifth Republic broke several records: he was the youngest person to become a member of government, then the youngest person to become education minister, and now the youngest Prime Minister.
In spite of this, his rise to prominence seems not to have been met with much surprise domestically, and his characterisation in the French media is neither that of a political novice nor a rebellious youth. 23-year old La France Insoumise MP and Tiktok politics influencer Louis Boyard opened his reaction to the news of Attal’s appointment by declaring that “the youngest Prime Minister in history isn’t going to change a thing.” “This figure of the ‘new world’ is in reality an emanation of the ‘old,’” scoffed Le Monde back in 2018, in an article attributing his success to a wealthy background, a prestigious education at Sciences-Po, and a firm grip onto Macron’s coattails.
The seemingly unflinching loyalty that Attal devotes to his leader has been cause for ridicule and condemnation by critics across French politics and media. Upon his prime-ministerial appointment, legend of the French left Jean-Luc Mélenchon decried what he saw as a coalescence of nominally-separate offices of power: “The function of the Prime Minister disappears. The Presidential monarch governs alone with his court.”
But beyond the implications of his role as Macron’s protégé, Attal has made headlines owing to his relationship with a different man: the General Secretary of Renaissance, Stéphane Séjourné. Séjourné, a fellow dark horse when it comes to spilling personal stories in the public arena, is another rising star of French liberalism, and was poised to lead Renaissance into this year’s Europarl elections before Attal appointed him as foreign minister last week. The two confirmed their romantic partnership in 2018, beginning a stint as the “Macronite power-couple” until their civil partnership which was dissolved four years later.
The relationship came to the public eye after Attal’s former classmate – controversy-ridden lawyer for Assange and the gilets-jaunes, Juan Branco – exposed their relationship amidst a string of other accusations against Attal in his book Crepuscule. Attal’s victimisation by Branco dates back to their schooldays, where, Attal has inferred, a pattern of homophobic bullying from Branco started. Beginning as a love rivalry when Attal dated a girl Branco had his eye on, the latter pledged to “destroy” the former, a pledge he has seemingly kept up throughout their adult lives.
However the revelation of Attal’s homosexuality in itself does not seem to have dented his popularity – in a December poll, he ranked as France’s most popular politician. In the Anglosphere, his appointment has ushered in a wave of praise from LGBTQ+ commentators and organisations. Annise Parker, President and CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, extolled the “powerful statement” sent by France by appointing Attal, declaring: “Democracies are stronger when LGBTQ+ people can participate at every level of government and Prime Minister Attal’s appointment will inspire even more LGBTQ+ people to consider public service.”
Yet, as French publication Mediapart pointed out, “The PM is gay, but not too much.” France’s not-so-distant past is full of stories of closeted queer politicians, and in light of this, Attal seems to shy away from being defined by his sexuality. In spite of his youth, and his portrayal in the Western media as a quintessential gay millennial, his strongest-held conviction is a commitment to the French establishment, and to Macron.
Posting on social media, Attal vowed to “work, with strength and humility and with no taboos, in service of the French people.” But despite his socialist past and his involvement in student protests during his university days, he has more recently condemned protesters and industrial action, following in the footsteps of his president-mentor. Since taking the reins earlier this month, he has ushered in what has widely been described as the most right-wing French cabinet in recent memory. Attal’s appointment seems less of a victory for France’s gay population and the political ambitions of young queers in general than a cynical appropriation of his youth and popularity by a waning President Macron, fearing the ongoing polarisation of the French people between resurgent hard-right and leftist tendencies.
Danny Tye (@dannytye) is an Editorial Intern at GAY45. After graduating from the University of Manchester with a BA in Politics and Spanish, he co-founded the radical history magazine Red Riding, where he currently works as contributing co-editor and graphic designer. His main areas of interest are the politics of queerness and (sub)cultural history, as well as film and music analysis. Besides his work for Red Riding, he has also been published in The Lemming and the Manchester Historian.
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