Book signing for Gabriel Attal's En homme libre ("As a Free Man") on the eve of its release, at Lamartine bookstore in Paris, April 22, 2026. LUCIEN LUNG/RIVA FOR M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE
Everything, Gabriel Attal believes, is a matter of narrative. An aspiring candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the 37-year-old former prime minister could not avoid the customary release of a book. With this first memoir En homme libre ("As a Free Man," untranslated), published Thursday, April 23, the centrist politician chose to open up about his private life, convinced that the French want to know their political leaders better.
He describes the death of his father from an aggressive cancer when he was 26, a loss he says he "never really recovered from," as well as his father's addictions to gambling and drugs, despite being a "loving" parent. Attal also writes about his close-knit family – his three sisters, his mother, and his adopted brother Nikolaï. Attal, who's also a former education minister, revisits the homophobia he has faced since entering politics. Most notably, he makes his romantic relationship with European Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné official, offering a detailed account of their story.
