2023-11-06 19:53:43
A serious tone, a look full of emotion and confessions. Sunday, on the show Seven to Eight on TF1, the Minister of Education, Gabriel Attal, surprised spectators by revealing parts of his private life. He notably recounted having suffered “a flood of insults and insults” when he was a schoolboy. While talking about his coming out, the brutal death of his father, the anti-Semitism of which he was a victim, his mother’s concern for him…
An exercise in truth which could seem risky for the Minister of Education, who enjoys a very good popularity rating: in October, he came in third position among the favorite personalities of the French people of the Political barometer Ipsos-Point. But according to Philippe Maarek, professor emeritus of universities, specialist in political communication, his approach is nothing new: “the Minister of Education is part of a global movement to publicize the private lives of politicians which is has been imposed in France since Nicolas Sarkozy. This form of political marketing is now well understood in France, even if this phenomenon started much later here than in the United States. »
A well-oiled communications strategy
Gabriel Attal, who was a successful government spokesperson, is experienced in the mysteries of political communication. It is therefore not surprising that he chose a reassuring setting for his confessions: “This is the intimate sequence of the show, face-to-face with the journalist, Audrey Crespo-Mara, who does not pose any questions to him. trick question. We feel that he has prepared his intervention and that he controls his communication strategy from start to finish,” underlines Christel Bertrand, consultant in political communication and crisis communication. With the show attracting an average of more than 4.5 million viewers every Sunday evening, the minister also had the guarantee that his interview would generate a strong response.
The timing chosen by Gabriel Attal is not a coincidence either. Because the government recently announced a battery of measures against school bullying. “He made this subject one of his hobby horses. To say that he himself was a victim of this scourge is to show the French the sincerity of his fight,” explains Christel Bertrand. A way of strengthening the credibility of its action, therefore.
What are the risks of communicating in this way?
But by revealing his cracks in this way, doesn’t he take the risk of appearing vulnerable? It’s quite the opposite, according to Philippe Maarek: “He shows that he has been able to overcome challenges and he debunks the criticism made to him on social networks. Which gives him further credibility and makes him even more capable of taking strong measures in the eyes of the general public.”
Don’t his confidences also risk irritating teachers? Christel Bertrand doesn’t believe it either: “He responds from his office on Rue de Grenelle and talks primarily about harassment, so he has not taken off his ministerial costume and cannot be accused of creating a diversion”, underlines -She.
“By revealing himself like this, he seems more human”
Finally, it is difficult not to see in his media intervention at Seven to eight a way for the minister to build bridges to the future. Especially when we know that in October, he was credited with 19% of voting intentions in the 2027 presidential election * in a Ifop-Fiducia surveyl for Sud Radio and Le Figaro. “Gabriel Attal is on the rise. He needs wider and more lasting notoriety if he wants to last politically. And by revealing himself in this way, he appears more human, dusting off political discourse, at a time when many French people believe that political figures are above ground,” underlines Christel Bertrand.
Still, Gabriel Attal’s strong presence in the media could end up getting boring. But that too, the minister seems to have understood. Because at one point in the interview, he says he doesn’t like talking about himself publicly and says he might never do it again after this. “He understood that it was necessary to balance the confidences and undoubtedly closed the loop with this interview,” indicates Philippe Maarek.
* If he were designated as the candidate of the presidential camp
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