Gabriel Attal's intense communications operation on Thursday, April 18, to mark the milestone of his first 100 days as prime minister was unusual. On the square in front of the town hall in Viry-Châtillon, south of Paris, Attal called for the "general mobilization of the nation" against the rise in violence among young people. The prime minister then answered questions from BFM-TV journalists for two hours, without denying that the situation was "difficult."
Appointed in January in an attempt to "rejuvenate" President Emmanuel Macron's second term, marked by high tensions around a pension system reform and then a restrictive immigration law, the youngest prime minister in modern French history was able to gauge just how daunting the challenge was. It's true that Attal's popularity, which earned him the job when others more seasoned than he were vying for it, has not been fundamentally damaged. On the other hand, it hasn't had the snowball effect that was hoped for: The government's policies remain largely misunderstood, and the ruling coalition appears to be in great danger ahead of the European elections in June.
Farmers' anger, which led to a rapid retreat on environmental standards, and the sudden worsening of the public deficit, which cast doubt on the government's economic credibility and created tensions within the government, partly explain the difficulties encountered. Attal's tried-and-tested method of responding to political mistrust as the minister of education, which consisted of providing a rapid response to a recognized problem, has proved ineffective in his new role, in which the unforeseen arises at every turn.
Parliament bypassed
More fundamentally, the factors that contributed to weakening former prime minister Elisabeth Borne are still present. The ruling coalition has not broadened. Since his appointment, Attal has faced the threat of a motion of no confidence, which would make him the Fifth Republic's most short-lived prime minister. For this reason, the government has carefully bypassed Parliament on budgetary issues, at the risk of raising the level of opposition animosity and reinforcing the government's sense of isolation. The darker the economic situation, the more the government appears to have fallen back on a line that has also seen it cut itself off from social partners: The proposed reform of unemployment insurance is, for unions, one provocation too many.
In an attempt to bounce back, Attal didn't try to achieve political balance. He chose to emphasize the theme of order. Though he was originally a member of the Parti Socialiste, his speech in Viry-Châtillon unabashedly adopted the rhetoric of former president Nicolas Sarkozy. He denounced the "professional excuse-makers" and called for a "surge of authority," convinced that he was responding to the expectations of a silent majority dominated by fear. Countering the momentum of the far-right Rassemblement National remains the objective, but there is a risk of giving it fuel. Left-wing voters who once supported Macron are becoming less and less receptive.
Admittedly, there is a form of clear-sightedness in the prime minister recognizing that even though he wants to "respond to the small problems of the French," it is so difficult to persuade them. His wish for the European campaign to focus on European issues seems to be a way to pass the responsibility to Macron, who is due to make a speech on Europe next week. But that is also a way of saying that if the debates remain focused on French issues, the election could prove very tough for Macron.