{"id":126428,"date":"2026-05-23T10:07:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=126428"},"modified":"2026-05-23T10:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:07:24","slug":"frances-youngest-prime-minister-to-run-for-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126428\/","title":{"rendered":"France\u2019s youngest prime minister to run for president"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MUR DE BARREZ(National Times)-  Gabriel Attal, once France\u2019s youngest prime minister, said on Friday he would run for president next year when Emmanuel Macron steps down, becoming the second prominent centrist to challenge the far right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can\u2019t take this kind of French politics anymore, where it\u2019s just 50 shades of managing decline,\u201d said the 37-year-old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have decided to run for president,\u201d he said under a blazing sun in the southern village of Mur de Barrez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attal joins a crowded field of candidates, including 55-year-old Edouard Philippe, an experienced centre-right former prime minister, and hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, 74.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attal chose to announce his bid in rural France, where the centrists hope to strengthen their performance against the ascending far-right National Rally (RN) party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">National Rally is banking on its best chance yet at winning power next year, with either Marine Le Pen, 57, or Jordan Bardella, 30, running for the country\u2019s top job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The newest presidential candidate, an openly gay Parisian known for his confidence and good looks, made history when he&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1804498\">became<\/a>&nbsp;France\u2019s youngest ever prime minister at the age of 34 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has had a meteoric rise in politics that has invoked comparisons with that of his mentor, and was dubbed by some a \u201cmini-Macron\u201d when he was appointed prime minister. Macron was 39 when he won the Elysee Palace, becoming the youngest ever head of state since Napoleon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attal will turn 38 next March, just ahead of the presidential election scheduled for April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In what appeared to be a move laying the ground for his bid at the presidency, Attal opened up about his love life in a book published last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He devoted a chapter to \u201cthe man of my life\u201d, European commissioner and former minister Stephane Sejourne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attal will face fierce competition from Philippe, a former head of government who leads his own Horizons party, and analysts question his ability to lead the centrist camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One centrist described Attal as \u201cabove all a communications pro\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut that does not at all reflect a coherent political offering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Philippe is currently seen as better placed in polls, which suggest the mayor of the northern city of Le Havre could win the election in a runoff against the far right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAttal will not be president,\u201d said a senior member of Philippe\u2019s party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople will not vote for Macron a third time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attal distanced himself from the unpopular Macron after the president dissolved French parliament\u2019s lower house in 2024, cutting short his brief tenure as prime minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MUR DE BARREZ(National Times)- Gabriel Attal, once France\u2019s youngest prime minister, said on Friday he would run for president next year when Emmanuel Macron steps down, becoming the second prominent centrist to challenge the far right. \u201cI can\u2019t take this kind of French politics anymore, where it\u2019s just 50 shades of managing decline,\u201d said the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - 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