Emmanuel Macron says Gabriel Attal is the “best man” in the world to lead the legislative campaign ahead of elections in two rounds on June 30 and July 7. Photo: AFP/Ludovic Marin
Emmanuel Macron's popular young Prime Minister Gabriel Attal tried to dissuade the French president from dissolving parliament and accepting his resignation, it became known on Monday.
“I am a fuse,” Mr Attal, 35, told Mr Macron on Sunday night, BFM TV reported. “Use me as a fuse,” he reportedly urged his 46-year-old boss, offering himself as a sacrificial lamb after a heavy defeat in the European Parliament elections.
Macron reportedly refused and told his prime minister he was the “best man” to lead the legislative campaign ahead of the two-round elections on June 30 and July 7.
Macron's reported plan is to pit Mr. Attal, often considered one of France's most popular political figures, head-to-head with Marine Le Pen's equally popular protégé and National Rally leader Jordan Bardella.
The 55-year-old Ms Le Pen has signaled that Mr Bardella, a 28-year-old MEP, will become prime minister if her party comes first in legislative elections, allowing her to focus on preparing her fourth bid for the presidency in 2027.
Mr Attal, a left-winger, was a popular education minister before Mr Macron appointed him in January as France's youngest and first openly gay prime minister ever.
Mr Attal wanted Mr Macron to use him as a “safety net” after his poor showing in the European elections. Photo: Reuters/Ludovic Marin
With presidential ambitions, Mr Attal played a front-line role in the bid to salvage Mr Macron's failed European election campaign, appearing alongside its lackluster leader Valerie Heyer at various rallies. He even made a controversial surprise appearance during a television interview, where he was accused of “cutting off” Ms. Heyer.
Although he failed to turn the tide of the election, he earned applause from his own camp during televised debate with Mr Bardella, in which most experts thought he would win comfortably on points. However, opinion polls showed that the French regarded it as a draw at best.
Having been defeated by Le Pen's camp in Sunday's European elections, Mr Macron has no real parliamentary majority. The decision to hold early elections would allow “the French people to make the fairest choice for themselves” and “clarify” the political landscape, the president insisted.
Some commentators call the decision a double-take or an exit, others call it political suicide caused by arrogance and the feeling of “after me, the flood.” Many in Macron's camp were caught by surprise.
The prospect of France having a right-wing populist prime minister when it hosts the Olympics this summer is now a real possibility. It will be the first time the far right has ruled the country since Marshal Philippe Pétain collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
But, as Le Monde reported on Sunday evening, after his speech in At the Elysee Palace, Macron told stunned ministers: “It is better to write history than to endure it.” No one dared to contradict him.
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