Steph Deschamps / June 6, 2022
This failure marks a new setback for this former PS heavyweight, who left French politics four years ago. On Sunday evening, he deleted his account on the social network Twitter.
Invested by the presidential majority to represent the French abroad, Manuel Valls was eliminated Sunday in the first round of legislative elections, a new fiasco for the former Prime Minister after the failure of his candidacy for the municipal elections in Barcelona. I take note of the results [...] If the dissent and division have confused, I can not ignore my score and the fact that my candidacy has not convinced, he said on Twitter.
It is up to me lucidly to draw the consequences. Life is beautiful enough to turn the pages quietly, added Manuel Valls, Prime Minister under the presidency of the socialist François Hollande between 2014 and 2016. In the evening, he left Twitter, his account now deleted. It is the candidate of the left-wing alliance, the Nupes, Renaud Le Berre, who came out on top in this fifth constituency of the French abroad, which includes Spain, Portugal, Monaco and Andorra and has about 120,000 registered voters.
This failure marks a new setback for this former heavyweight of the Socialist Party who had left French politics four years ago to try to conquer in vain in 2019 the mayor of Barcelona. He had arrived only fourth with about 13% of the vote. Manuel Valls had finally left in 2021 the city council of Barcelona to make his return to France as a columnist in television programs.
The announcement on May 5 of the nomination of the former Prime Minister had made the effect of a bomb in the fifth constituency of French abroad, especially among French residents in Spain. Stéphane Vojetta, outgoing deputy elected under the colors of the presidential party, La République en marche (LREM), had decided to maintain himself in the face of this parachuting while promising, if elected, to remain a loyal supporter of Emmanuel Macron. He came in second place, far ahead of Manuel Valls.