The Attal government (French: gouvernement Attal) was the forty-fourth 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] It served as a caretaker government from July to September 2024, before Michel Barnier was appointed prime minister.
Attal government | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 44th Government of French Fifth Republic | |
 Attal in 2023 | |
| Date formed | 9 January 2024 |
| Date dissolved | 5 September 2024 |
| People and organisations | |
| President of the Republic | Emmanuel Macron |
| Prime Minister | Gabriel Attal |
| No. of ministers | 34[a] |
| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature | |
| Opposition parties | |
| History | |
| Election | 2024 French legislative election |
| Legislature term | |
| Predecessor | Borne government |
| Successor | Barnier government |
The Attal cabinet was 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. Following the second round of the 2024 legislative election, Attal announced his intent to submit his resignation to Macron on 8 July.[2] However, the resignation was refused by Macron, who asked Attal to remain at least temporarily prime minister in order to help preserve stability.[3][4] Attal's resignation was accepted on 16 July 2024. Despite this, Attal would stay on as head of a caretaker government,[5][6] initiating the 2024 French political crisis.[7][8] On 5 September, the caretaker government was replaced by the Barnier government.
History
editFormation
editContext
editIn late December 2023, the passage of an immigration and 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 deputies defied the government by either abstaining or voting against the legislation.[9] Hours after the bill was passed, Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau resigned in protest; Higher Education Minister Sylvie Retailleau offered her resignation as well although President Macron refused it.[10] Others, such as Transport Minister Clément Beaune, voiced their opposition to the bill but did not quit.[11]
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.[12]
Élisabeth Borne's resignation
editWhen 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 Macron's will to replace her with a new officeholder. In her letter, she also quoted a line from her distant predecessor Michel Rocard's own resignation letter, a reference to the fact that, like him, she was compelled to resign by the President while she would have wanted to carry on as head of government.[13]
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 Constitution.[14]
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 Prime Minister
editIn the run-up to Gabriel Attal's appointment as prime minister, news media cited several politicians as main contenders for the premiership: Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu, former National Assembly President Richard Ferrand, former Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie and Environment Minister Christophe Béchu were among the names cited for Macron's pick.[15]
Hours before the appointment, when Attal emerged as the most likely pick for the premiership, 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 prime minister from 2017 to 2020) or incumbent government 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.[16]
Prior to 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
editThe 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, 57% are former members of the conservative UMP/LR party.[17] Furthermore, right-leaning politicians are left holding the largest government portfolios, such as the Interior, Finance, Defence, Labour, Health, Culture and Environment, a political configuration seen as indicating a tilt to the right.[18]
Additionally, longtime Macron allies and prominent left-leaning ministers of the outgoing Borne government, such as Rima Abdul-Malak (Culture), Clément Beaune (Transport) and Olivier Véran (Spokesperson), were sacked as part of the reshuffle.
Parliamentary history
editVote of confidence
editOn 16 January 2024, Attal announced that, like Élisabeth Borne before him, he would not be seeking a vote of confidence in the National Assembly as it is implicitly allowed in the French Constitution. If a confidence vote were to take place, Attal's government would likely fall since it is 39 seats short of an overall majority in the lower house.[19]
As it was widely expected, left-wing LFI leader Manuel Bompard announced that his parliamentary group would table a motion of no confidence in response to Attal's decision.[20] The no-confidence motion substantially failed to receive enough votes to topple the cabinet since right-wing parties refused to support the attempt at this early stage in the government's tenure.
Composition
editAs 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.
In February 2024, a second raft of government appointments took place: the total number of government ministers went up from 14 to 34. Apart from the numerous junior ministerial appointments, notably, the ministries of National Education and Sports, which had been merged in January through Amélie Oudéa-Castéra's appointment as Education and Sports minister, were once again de-merged. Oudéa-Castéra was demoted, returning as Sports minister, and former Justice minister Nicole Belloubet replaced her as Education minister. Additionally, Stanislas Guerini was re-appointed as Civil Service minister.
Ministers
editDeputy Ministers
editState Secretaries
edit| Portfolio | Attached minister | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Secretary for Digital Affairs | Minister of Economy, Finances and Industrial & Digital Sovereignty | Marina Ferrari | MoDem | |
| State Secretary for Cities and Citizenship | Minister of the Interior and Overseas Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion |
Sabrina Agresti-Roubache | RE | |
| State Secretary for Veterans and Remembrance | Minister of the Armed Forces | Patricia Mirallès | RE | |
| State Secretary for Development and International Partnerships | Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs | Chrysoula Zacharopoulou | RE | |
| State Secretary for the Sea and Biodiversity | Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion | Hervé Berville | RE | |
Civil service
edit- Emmanuel Moulin, Chief of Staff to the Prime minister
Notes
edit- ^ Does not include the Prime Minister.
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Iordache, Ruxandra (2024-07-07). "French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to tender resignation". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
- ^ Hinnant, Lori; Corbet, Sylvie (8 July 2024). "France's Macron keeps prime minister in place for "stability of the country" after chaotic election". Associated Press. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Live: Macron refuses Attal's resignation, asks French PM to stay on temporarily for 'stability'". France 24. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "French PM Attal resigns but will remain in caretaker role amid political deadlock". France 24. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ "Macron accepts PM resignation but asks him to stay on". BBC. 16 July 2024.
- ^ "Prez Macron sparks political crisis in France by refusing to appoint leftwing Prime Minister | World News". The Indian Express. 2024-08-27. Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ Bland, Archie (2024-08-28). "Wednesday briefing: Why Emmanuel Macron doesn't want Lucie Castets as France's prime minister". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ Caulcutt, Clea (2023-12-20). "Macron in crisis after immigration showdown". Politico. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "French health minister resigns over Macron's controversial immigration law". Le Monde with AFP. 2023-12-20. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Immigration law: Clément Beaune did not resign despite his criticisms, he explains". Huffington Post (in French). 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "After the immigration law, a reshuffle early 2024?". TF1 info (in French). 2023-12-24. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ ""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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Ministerial reshuffle: which contenders, what timetable? Here are the questions that arise". Sud Ouest (in French). 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Gabriel Attal at Matignon: behind the scenes of a disputed appointment". Le Monde (in French). 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Attal government: macronism shifts to the right". Les Échos (in French). 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
- ^ "General policy declaration: Gabriel Attal rejects the idea of a vote of confidence". Le Parisien (in French). 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ "Attal government: the LFI group will table a no-confidence motion against the new government". Le Parisien (in French). 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ 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.
- ^ AFP (11 January 2024). "France : Rachida Dati exclue de son parti LR après sa nomination à la Culture". Le Soir. Retrieved 11 January 2024.