Former PM challenges Macron’s dissolution, distances himself from him, and sets out his vision for 2027
Former French PM criticised Macron’s dissolution of parliament, announced comprehensive institutional reforms, and indicated presidential ambitions for 2027, urging party supporters to embrace a renewed Republic and reject reliance on providential leaders.
What you need to know
🔹 Gabriel Attal criticised Emmanuel Macron’s parliament dissolution, calling it destabilising for France.
🔹 He pledged institutional reforms including fewer parliamentarians and stronger direct democracy.
🔹 The former PM vowed constitutional protection of equality, gender and LGBTQ+ rights achievements.
🔹 His speech hinted at presidential ambitions, balancing continuity and break from Macron.
G abriel Attal, the young and former prime minister and leader of Renaissance, Emmanuel Macron’s party, openly criticised the French president’s dissolution of parliament at a rally in Arras on Sunday, pledging reforms aimed at reshaping France’s institutions ahead of 2027.
Before around 3,000 party supporters in the room, Attal admitted that Macron’s decision to dissolve the French National Assembly in June 2024 had triggered political instability. “I fought this decision with all my strength,” he told the crowd, calling it a “rupture” for both his party and the country. “Everything that has happened since is exactly what I feared.”
The 35-year-old, who served just eight months at Matignon before being swept away by the dissolution, positioned himself as the architect of a “Fifth Republic for the 21st century”. Rejecting both a Sixth Republic and reliance on a “providential man”, Gabriel Attal said: “Let us stop believing in the myth of the providential man and accept the need to share power.”
Dissolution de l'Assemblée nationale: "Je m'y étais opposé", assure Gabriel Attal lors de son discours à Arras pic.twitter.com/guE7UGSSKg
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) September 21, 2025
Institutional reforms
Attal pledged a “full overhaul” of France’s institutions within 18 months. His proposals included reducing the number of parliamentarians, cutting layers of local government and limiting legal appeals, which he said had turned France into a “veto-cracy”. He also argued for regular referendums to give citizens more direct say.
On social rights, Attal proposed amending the Constitution to protect the achievements of equality. “Let us inscribe a principle of non-regression so that no law can roll back hard-won rights,” he said, citing gender and LGBTQ+ protections.
Eyes on the Élysée
Though he pledged support for the new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, Attal’s speech left little doubt about his presidential ambitions. “We are no longer in 2017 or 2022,” he told supporters, urging them to prepare for 2027 as “the great awakening” after years of “chaos and division”.
By stepping away from Macron’s legacy while still defending the role of the presidency as “the keystone”, Attal marked a delicate balancing act: continuity with the Fifth Republic, but a firm break with Macronism. His call for a “new Republic” signals a campaign already in motion.
TODAY’s Cartoons
GOING FURTHER
A Tiny Circle of Advisers Helped Prod Macron to Take a Giant Risk | THE NEW YORK TIMES
Macron protégé Gabriel Attal turns into biggest threat to president | POLITICO
Gabriel Attal poursuit son entreprise de « démacronisation » (in French) | LE NOUVEL OBS
Gabriel Attal va-t-il dissoudre le macronisme ? (in French) | PUBLIC SENAT
Sources:
▪ This piece was first published in Europeans TODAY on 22 September 2025.
▪ Cover: Dreamstime/Korwen.
