Emmanuel Macron has appointed France’s youngest-ever prime minister, Gabriel Attal, as he seeks to reinvigorate a difficult second term as president and limit any possible gains for the far right in the forthcoming European elections in June. Attal, 34, who was serving as education minister, has been referred to as a “baby Macron” as he shares similar qualities to the president, such as his ambition, strong media presence and centrist politics. He is considered to be the best-known and most recognisable face of the close circle of young politicians around the president. Attal is also the first openly gay prime minister of France and is in a civil partnership with Stéphane Séjourné, a member of the European parliament for Macron’s Renaissance party. Attal described his appointment as a bold move by Macron. “The youngest president in [French] history is appointing the youngest prime minister in [French] history. I want to see it as a symbol of audacity,” he said, promising to “free up France’s potential”. Attal, who will appoint a new government in the coming days, said he would pursue what he described as Macron’s pro-business drive to transform the French economy, while focusing on young people and education. “I’m well aware of the context in which I take on this job,” he said. “Too many people in France doubt our country, doubt themselves or our future.” He said he was thinking of workers “who get up every morning to go to work ... and sometimes can’t make ends meet”. A source at the Elysée described Attal as a symbol of the young “Macron generation” and said his appointment was about returning to the fundamentals of the president’s centrist politics. But the source also said that making Attal prime minister was about “the fight against populism, which is quite strong in France ahead of the European elections” in June. Macron’s party is behind Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in the polls. Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old president of RN, who is leading the European election fight and is known for his heated TV debates with Attal, said Macron was just trying to attach himself to Attal’s popularity. “By appointing Gabriel Attal ... Emmanuel Macron wants to cling to his popularity in opinion polls to alleviate the pain of an interminable end to his reign,” he said. During his five months defending a hard line on authority and secularism as education minister – including banning girls in state schools from wearing abayas and experimenting with introducing school uniforms – Attal has shot up the opinion polls as the most popular minister in government. Macron wrote on X that he was counting on Attal’s energy and engagement to restore the spirit of 2017 – the year of Macron’s first election when he promised to revolutionise French politics. Since 2022, Macron’s second term has been defined by turbulence in a divided parliament since losing his absolute majority in elections shortly after being re-elected president. Attal, who has also served as budget minister, became a household name as government spokesperson during the Covid pandemic and is regarded by some as a master of political communication. A calm, careful speaker who can sometimes be ferocious in political TV debates against the far right, he is known to believe that it is important “to speak to people’s hearts”. He won support for speaking out about being bullied at school. Macron said in his new year address that, alongside his long-stated goal of bringing France back to full employment, he wanted what he called a “civic re-armament” – to restore authority and to counter what he sees as a collapse in civility and a fragmentation of society. Although Attal was once part of the centrist wing of the left’s Socialist party, he quit in his 20s to support Macron’s centrist project in 2017. Viewed as a defender of centrist politics in France, he has also in recent months reached out to members of parliament in the rightwing party Les Républicains, whose support is often crucial for legislation to be passed. Macron’s decision to replace the former prime minister Élisabeth Borne and reshuffle the government is not regarded as a fundamental political shift. Sylvain Maillard, head of Macron’s Renaissance party in parliament, said Attal could be relied on to “faithfully” carry Macron’s project for the country. The president is trying to move beyond a difficult past year, including unpopular pension changes and a recent row over the introduction of a hardline immigration law that divided his party and was seen by some as an ideological victory for the ideas of Le Pen and the radicalised right. “What can the French expect from this fourth prime minister and fifth government in seven years?” said Le Pen. “They can expect nothing.”