After six years of absence and an unsuccessful attempt to establish itself in Spain, Manuel Valls returns to French political life as Minister of State for Overseas Territories. This return marks a turning point for the former Prime Minister, who will have the heavy task of managing complex issues such as the consequences of Hurricane Chido in Mayotte, the riots which broke out in May in New Caledonia, or the crisis of the cost of living in the French West Indies.
Prime Minister between 2014 and 2016 under François Hollande, Manuel Valls stood out for his clear-cut and divisive positions. In 2017, he supported Emmanuel Macron after losing the socialist primary to Benoît Hamon, sparking accusations of “treachery” from his former supporters. He then left his mandate as deputy for Essonne to try to win the Barcelona town hall in 2018, a bet which ended in failure.
A political journey marked by controversies
Born on August 13, 1962 in Barcelona, Manuel Valls grew up in Paris and was naturalized French at the age of 20, losing his Spanish nationality. “I fully experienced this triple Spanish – and Catalan – Italian and French culture,” he confided in 2015, before correcting it in 2022 by speaking of his “double Franco-Spanish culture”. Father of four children from his first marriage, he is married to Susana Gallardo, heiress to a Catalan pharmaceutical company.
Manuel Valls started in politics with Michel Rocard between 1988 and 1990, a period where he worked on the Matignon agreements, which pacified New Caledonia. This experience could be valuable to him in managing the persistent tensions in this territory. Former mayor of Évry (2001-2012), he focused on themes such as security, secularism and living together, areas that he pursued in government.
A complicated but determined return
His time in government was marked by his support for controversial measures, such as the deprivation of nationality or the ban on the burkini. Defender of the Labor law and inventor of the concept of “irreconcilable lefts”, he did not hesitate to criticize the “outmoded left” and to advocate a rapprochement between “progressives” of left and right. “I like the company,” he said to the employers, comments which had divided his political camp. His action today leaves mixed memories within the Socialist Party.
In 2022, Manuel Valls attempted a comeback by running for a deputy mandate in the fifth constituency of French people living abroad, but he was eliminated in the first round. Refusing to run again in Essonne, he declared: “It made no sense. I had handed over. » Defeated, he still called for a barrier against the Nupes candidate in the second round.
