Macron's sidekick savaged after gatecrashing female colleague's debate
Emmanuel Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as Prime Minister in January, with the 35-year-old replacing Elisabeth Borne.
Gabriel Attal, France’s youthful Prime Minister and a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, has been widely condemned for “mansplaining” after gatecrashing a debate featuring Valerie Hayer, his party’s lead candidate for the European Parliamentary elections.
Mr Attal, 35, faced criticism from both right and left in response to his decision to invite himself to the televised event, with many suggesting he had done Ms Hayer no favours by doing so.
Ms Hayer was one of several high-profile politicians taking part in the event, screened by national broadcaster France Info.
In an awkward encounter, he said: “I am so sorry for bursting in like this – I was just being interviewed upstairs, and it’s important to me to come and lend support to Valérie.”
He proceeded to speak for several minutes about the challenges faced by Europe during this weekend’s continent-wide elections, emphasising why young people should opt for Mr Macron’s Renaissance party. The time he took was then deducted from Ms Hayer’s allocation.
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His invention sparked a fierce reaction on social media, with many asking why Mr Attal had felt unable to allow his candidate to speak for herself.
Far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen, defeated by Mr Macron in two presidential elections, said: “Attal would never have let himself do that if Ms Hayer had been a man.
“She may be my political adversary, but the way the prime minister humiliated her was utterly shameful.”
Marie Toussaint, who heads the list of the Green party, said: “I share the anger that many people have, watching the prime minister – and the president – wiping their feet on Valerie Hayer.”
Olivier Faure, who heads up the Socialist Party, commented: “Macron and Attal are doing everything to undermine and render invisible their candidate. Every day they are putting themselves in her place.”
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Ms Hayer is staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat against National Rally’s 28-year-old leader Jordan Bardella.
The latest polls put Mr Bardella’s RN at 33 percent, with Ms Hayer on 15 percent.
Mr Macron has also been accused of unfairly inserting himself into the debate after delivering a speech on Europe last month and a television interview scheduled for tomorrow - the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
François-Xavier Bellamy, who heads the conservative Republicans’ list, said: “It’s all a bit macho, isn’t it?”
He described Mr Attal's intervention as: "Listen Valerie, I can do this better than you; I’m going to explain how it works at a European election."
