From left to right: Mathilde Panot (La France Insoumise), Gabriel Attal (Renaissance), Aurore Bergé (Renaissance), Jordan Bardella (Rassemblement National). Source: TF1 / LCI
Just beneath the top tier of politicians in France is a set of young risers with energy and ambition to become the leaders of the future. I’ve picked out four of them who are firmly on the ascendant. Their ages range from 27 to 36 and their party affiliations from far left to far right.
Gabriel Attal
Gabriel Attal, Education Minister. Source: TF1
Gabriel Attal is making a habit of being the youngest ever in almost everything he does. At 23 he became the youngest political adviser in the governmental team, where he worked for health minister Marisol Touraine during the presidency of François Hollande. At 29, under Emmanuel Macron, he became the youngest ever government minister and, just one week ago, at 34, he became the youngest ever education minister of the Fifth Republic. Phew.
Attal's political career started out in the Parti Socialiste but he switched to support Emmanuel Macron ahead of the 2017 presidential election. He was rewarded with the highly-visible role of government spokesman in 2018, which meant he was frequently on TV and radio to defend the government’s record. A baptism of fire but a job at which he excelled.
Attal is one of the few members of the current government who has built a significant profile. His most recent job was as minister of public finances, which is hardly the sexiest of topics, yet he still managed to draw more attention than those with weightier portfolios. He was able to deliver some punchy moments such as this takedown of députés from La France Insoumise, accusing them of only wanting to taxer, taxer, taxer. His new role as education minister is much more high profile and will give him plenty of opportunities for exposure. He wasted no time, choosing the very next day after his appointment to visit a school that was badly damaged in the recent riots to offer support to teachers and administrators.
Aside from politics, Attal has an interesting back story. He is openly gay and in a civil union with a fellow politician, Stéphane Séjourné. He can turn on the charm when he wants to, as in this touching tribute to his former boss at the finance ministry, Bruno Le Maire. He enjoys the support of Emmanuel Macron but will need to take care that his speedy rise doesn't make others eager to cut him down to size once the current president leaves his post in four years.
Aurore Bergé
Aurore Bergé, Minister for solidarity and families. Source: TF1
Despite being a member of parliament since 2017, Aurore Bergé had a relatively low profile until she took on the leadership of the president’s Renaissance party in the Assemblée Nationale in 2022. Since then, her star has risen, particularly during the heated debates over changes to the retirement age in early 2023 when she was seen as one of the most competent party figures who was capable of defending the policy in the media. Her confident and spirited performances undoubtedly earned her brownie points back at the Elysée.
She was rewarded with a new job as minister of solidarity and families in the most recent reshuffle. Bergé is the very definition of ‘hitting the ground running’, coming out within one week of her appointment with a newsworthy plan to make changes to parental leave. As if that wasn’t enough, she was back just a few days later with an announcement on financial aid to families so their children can go on organised summer holidays.
Bergé started out her political career in the centre-right Les Républicains and switched allegiance to support Emmanuel Macron ahead of the 2017 presidential election. By the time of the next presidential election in 2027 she will be 40, a year older than Macron was when elected president. Could she be the first woman to get elected to the top spot?
Mathilde Panot
Mathilde Panot, parliamentary leader of La France Insoumise. Source: TMC
Mathilde Panot is another star of the current parliament. The 34-year-old has been a member of parliament for the left-wing La France Insoumise since 2017 and, like Aurore Bergé, was elected to the task of leading her party's parliamentary grouping.
Since the elections of 2022, Mathilde Panot has built her profile considerably. This is helped by the fact that party founder Jean-Luc Mélenchon is no longer a member of parliament, allowing her more space to shine. She has also been much more prominent on TV and radio, taking a leading role in the debates over the changes to the retirement age.
Panot is a tireless campaigner. She seems to be constantly hopping from parliamentary debates to TV studios to political meetings and local campaigns. She is a confident media performer whether debating other politicians or dealing with journalists, as this BFMTV interview shows.
Of everyone on this list, she has perhaps the most polished social media presence. She puts out carefully edited clips showcasing her performances, such as this one relating to the recent death of a young man that sparked riots across France.
Jordan Bardella
Jordan Bardella, president of Rassemblement National. Source: TF1
For most people outside France, the Rassemblement National is represented by Marine Le Pen. While she is still the party’s most prominent figure she is no longer the party president. That role went to Jordan Bardella in 2021.
At just 27, Bardella is the youngest in this list yet he has the confidence and poise of someone who has trained to be a politician his whole life. While Marine Le Pen leads the RN parliamentary grouping, it’s Bardella who is most often in the TV and radio studios arguing the party’s case. In fact, the two appear to have settled on a model where he lands the punches in the day-to-day political battle while she adopts a more presidential position, sitting slightly above the fray waiting for the next presidential election in 2027.
Like everyone on this list, Bardella is unafraid of tough opponents and fierce debate. He even seems to relish it. He is willing to appear on both serious news programmes and the early evening talking heads shows where he is likely to encounter more resistance, such as Touche pas à mon poste.
He clearly has a strong relationship with Marine Le Pen and even became tearful while paying tribute to her when accepting the role as party president. He speaks often about his journey into politics and his admiration for Marine Le Pen while growing up in one of the tough suburbs around Paris.
While these four rising stars come from different political backgrounds, they share some common characteristics that are powering their success.
First, they are all passionate about the issues they fight for and ambitious to make things happen. Second, they are excellent performers, particularly in the TV and radio studios and have a good sense of how to attract media attention. Third, they are all confident and courageous. They are bold and unafraid to fight for their beliefs and good at standing up to difficult interviewers and pugnacious opponents.
There are more than just these four, of course. I missed out Manon Aubry of La France Insoumise, Aurélien Pradié of Les Républicains and Marion Maréchal of Reconquête, for example. At the moment, the four I've chosen are the politicians with the most potential. While women are well represented, there seem to be fewer people of colour who are cutting through, for now at least. Hopefully that will change.
Whatever you think of the views of these four, they show that political life in France is still attractive to talented young people in France, which is a good sign for the health of French democracy in years to come.
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