In the recent ballet of ministerial portfolio redistribution in France, which followed Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of Gabriel Attal as Prime Minister with the task of forming a new government, the latter’s sexual orientation was the subject of heated debate.
This debate was amplified by the subsequent appointment of her former partner, Stéphane Séjourné, as Minister of Foreign Affairs. It raised questions about the “normalization” of homosexuality within the French government and high-level positions.
According to a recent survey by French opinion and marketing research institute IFOP, 80% of French citizens believe that the election of a person from the LGBTQ+ community to the presidency of the Republic is not shocking to them. Only 20% expressed the opposite opinion.
The results of this survey also reveal a positive evolution in the level of tolerance of French citizens towards the access of LGBTQ+ people to high-level positions, including the presidency. Indeed, the percentage of French people accepting this idea has risen from 30% in 1981 to 46% in 1997, then to 73% in 2002, and is currently at 80%. At the same time, the percentage of those who consider it “shocking” has fallen from 61% in 1981 to 20%.
In addition, 65% of French people said they “have no problem” voting for a candidate who openly displays his or her sexual orientation in the forthcoming presidential elections, while 12% expressed the opposite, considering this to be an “obstacle” in their voting intentions.
In the same context, in response to a question about their opinion on the presence of politicians declaring their sexual orientation in government, 26% of French people expressed their support, representing a nine-point increase on the last survey carried out in 2003. On the other hand, 13% are opposed to the appointment of LGBTQ+ people to government positions. Furthermore, 61% of those surveyed indicated that they are not interested in the sexual orientations of government members.
IFOP also revealed that 25% of French citizens support the public declaration of politicians’ sexual orientation, while 17% are opposed. Some 58% of those questioned said they didn’t think it was important.
Gabriel Attal, current Prime Minister, tops the list of French political figures considered most open, with 55% of citizens supporting his efforts to promote the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. He is followed by President Emmanuel Macron, whom half of citizens consider to be “open to recognizing and promoting the rights of LGBTQ+ people in France”. Respondents also believe that far-right politicians are the most opposed to such openness.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently appointed Gabriel Attal, former Minister of Education, to head the government, making him the youngest politician to hold a ministerial post and the first Prime Minister to publicly declare his sexual orientation.
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