French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the government and appointed a new prime minister, former Minister of Education Gabriel Attal.

Attal (34 y.o.) became the youngest head of the French government since Napoleon and the first open gay prime minister in the country's history.

Attal's task is to "win over" French society or, at the very least, elicit sympathy.

Read more in the article by Yurii Panchenko, European Pravda's editor – First since Napoleon: how youngest PM expected to save France from far-right.

The migration reform proposed by Macron proved fatal for the previous French government. The majority in parliament was reluctant to approve the law, and President Macron did not want to resort to the 49.3 amendment, which allows the head of state to pass unpopular laws proposed by the government bypassing parliament.

As a result, Macron's party had to seek support from Marine Le Pen's National Rally, albeit with some amendments to the law. Approval of the reform in collaboration with the far-right led to a deterioration in relations between the president's party and the left opposition, which had often supported government bills. This limited the government's ability to maneuver politically, increased its unwanted dependence on the right-wing, and caused a rift in the government.

Moreover, Marine Le Pen's significant victory increased her chances in the upcoming presidential elections.

Importantly, this change in the government is right before a new pan-European campaign: elections to the European Parliament in June. These elections will be challenging for Macron and his party.

His key rival, Le Pen (who has currently increased her support), usually loses in national elections but traditionally achieves high results in European ones.

Macron hopes that a new prime minister and a new government policy will at least reduce, if not overcome, the lag of the presidential party from Le Pen's National Rally.

Ordinary citizens, however, do not share this optimism.

Nevertheless, there is a chance that sceptics may turn out to be wrong.

Indeed, the new prime minister is the one whom the French wanted the most.

The new prime minister looks like a politician who, if successful in his new position, could become a candidate for the presidency in the 2027 elections when Macron can no longer run.

Gabriel Attal is only 34 years old. He becomes the youngest head of the government in the history of France, besides Napoleon I (who held the position of First Consul, similar to the modern prime minister, at the age of 30).

"The youngest president appoints the youngest prime minister."

This is how former government head Elisabeth Borne commented on the appointment.

Attal has only been the Minister of Education for six months. He initiated measures to combat bullying and the prohibition of displaying religious symbols in schools. These reforms significantly increased his popularity and placed him in the top three in Macron's team in this regard.

Interestingly, the lineage of the new prime minister is connected to Ukraine. His mother, Attal Marie de Curières, comes from a family of Russian emigrants, White Guards of Greek origin, who lived in Odesa. Attal was brought up in the Orthodox faith during his childhood.

However, more importantly, the new prime minister has long been an activist and regional MP for the Socialist Party, from which he switched to Macron's newly formed political force in 2017.

This is crucial for understanding Macron's future strategy. There are expectations that the new head of the French government, who leans towards leftist ideas, will be able to mend relations with the left opposition and, consequently, reduce the current government's dependence on right-wing support.