Gabriel Attal, at the end of the military parade, on July 14, 2024, in Paris. LAURENCE GEAI /MYOP FOR « LE MONDE »
Others would have been hurt by the announced end of such a short-lived political adventure. But, on Sunday, July 7, when he leaves the Elysée after discussing the disastrous results for the presidential camp in the legislative elections with Emmanuel Macron, Gabriel Attal does not think about his planned departure from Matignon, just six months after his arrival. No. The head of the government is already savoring his personal triumph. "I saved the Republic!", he boasts, immodestly, as he passes by a faithful supporter of the head of state near the palace gates, taken aback by such arrogance.
A few minutes later, the President of the Republic, irritated by the man who was once nicknamed the 'baby Macron', will not deign to look at him emancipating himself openly from his tutelage in front of the television cameras. 'I did not choose this dissolution, but I chose not to endure it,' asserts Gabriel Attal, from the steps of Matignon, recalling that he was not involved in the decision of the head of state, misunderstood and criticized by Macron's supporters, to dissolve the National Assembly on June 9. Pleased to have pushed back 'the extremes' after an intense campaign, namely the National Rally and La France Insoumise, the Prime Minister announces on the same evening that he is resigning, a resignation rejected by Emmanuel Macron.
A scent of revenge hovers over Rue de Varenne. On Tuesday, July 16, the tenant of the Elysée Palace must accept the resignation of the government, and therefore of his Prime Minister, who will however remain in place for a certain time with limited power to manage 'current affairs'. But without delay, the man who, at 34 years old, was the youngest Prime Minister in the history of the Fifth Republic, has already taken control of his destiny, far from the President who is said to be irreversibly weakened. The deputy of Hauts-de-Seine now has his eyes set on the National Assembly. Elected on July 13 as the president of the Renaissance group of deputies, renamed 'Together for the Republic', he is ready, in his words, to 'reinvent everything, rebuild everything', suggesting de facto that everything has been destroyed. 'Gabriel Attal follows the power,' notes Vincent Martigny, professor of political science at the University of Nice and at the Ecole Polytechnique.
The "sense of duty"
Taking advantage of his last moments on Rue de Varenne, the Prime Minister hastily had his beloved late father's desk brought up to the first floor of Matignon on July 5. The piece of furniture that has followed Gabriel Attal to all his ministries was placed next to Léon Blum's desk, where the Prime Minister had been working until now. No boxes have been packed yet. Gabriel Attal is aware that he may linger for a few weeks at Matignon to ensure the minimal functioning of the State, especially to oversee the smooth running of the Paris Olympics from July 26 to August 11, until a replacement is named.
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