Where does Gabriel Attal stand on cannabis?

France's youngest-ever prime minister is openly gay and admits to having used cannabis - it doesn't happen every morning. But do we really know Gabriel Attal's position on cannabis?

His personal experience with cannabis

Gabriel Attal's first foray, to our knowledge, on the subject of cannabis was marked by a progressive stance. In an interview with BFMTV on January 15, 2020, Mr Attal insisted on the need for a global debate, encompassing issues of prevention, punishment and control.

Mr. Attal drew on his experience during a trip to Quebec, as part of his former youth-related duties, where cannabis had been legalized a few «months» earlier [...ndlr: years in fact].

Speaking to Jean-Jacques Bourdin, he said: «My conviction, the conviction that this has given me, is that the main issue is prevention. We can't simply say: yes, we have to legalize, without asking ourselves how we go about it».

He said he was open to the debate on legalizing cannabis, but did not declare himself personally in favor of legalization, despite heavy prodding from Jean-Jacques Bourdin.

«What I don't want to do is take a position on legalization, without taking into account the issues involved in prevention,» he explained.

Attal's knowledge of the subject also stems from personal experience. Asked about his own relationship with cannabis, he candidly admitted to having smoked in the past. He made it clear, however, that he was not a regular user, and emphasized the negative impact he observed among his peers.

«I've seen what it has done to young people who were completely hooked [...] and I've seen young people who have been completely taken out of school and out of the loop, and that's not acceptable,» he points out.

In February 2023, when he was Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, he welcomed record cannabis seizures, reflecting an evolution towards a more conservative viewpoint.

Now head of government, will he follow Emmanuel Macron's lead in adopting a pro-prohibition stance? Or will he remain true to his convictions, which on other issues have already evolved considerably since he first entered politics?