The appointment by François Bayrou this Monday, December 23, of the former Socialist Prime Minister to the Ministry responsible for Overseas Territories is strongly criticized by the Socialists or France Insoumise (LFI).
The return of an old acquaintance. To everyone's surprise, François Bayrou appointed Manuel Valls as Minister of State for Overseas Territories this Monday, December 23. “Manuel Valls is a somewhat kamikaze personality at times. He is a personality for whom I have respect,” the Prime Minister justified himself Monday evening on the set of BFMTV, shortly after the announcement of his team.
This appointment marks the return to the forefront of the French political scene of the man who was Prime Minister under François Hollande for more than two years. It provokes the ire of many political leaders, particularly on the left where the figure of the new minister looks like a scarecrow.
“It’s the embodiment of failure and betrayal”
“He achieved the height of losing all his elections since 2017, even when he was a candidate supported by Emmanuel Macron in 2022 against Stéphane Vojetta”, critic on BFMTV Arthur Delaporte, PS deputy for Calvados. “It’s the incarnation of loss and betrayal,” he added again this Tuesday on RTL.
And the criticisms follow one another, each more harsh than the last. “I find it a bit ridiculous to tell you the truth”, tackles on BFMTV this Tuesday morning Laurent Baumel, PS deputy for Indre-et-Loire, who believes that François Bayrou “is going to look for people to whom we artificially attach left labels.” “It’s a pure communications operation that will only work with those who want it to work,” he adds.
“We were waiting for Christmas night, we had that of the living dead,” adds the First Secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure to BFMTV and RMC, castigating a “panoply of ghosts, it’s Halloween!”
“Can you imagine what people see?”, continues Pierre Jouvet, MEP and secretary general of the PS. “Ministers beaten, ridiculed if we talk about Manuel Valls who is the laughing stock of the whole of France. The French must be disgusted to see this, people who cling to power,” he points out on our antenna .
The deputy of La France insoumise (LFI), Hadrien Clouet, goes even further on franceinfo and uses the religious metaphor. “When you recall Manuel Valls, it is because even Judas was not available. In my opinion he did not have much ease in forming this government, nor many volunteers,” he attacks. .
Alexis Corbière, deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis, for his part, points out “a has-been hated by the entire left.”
Failures and a substantial portfolio
Between 2016 and 2022, Manuel Valls' political career is littered with electoral defeats, from France to Barcelona. In 2022, he was invested by the Macronist camp in the fifth constituency of French people living abroad during the legislative elections, where he lost again.
Within the Bayrou government, he nevertheless inherits a very large portfolio where he will notably have to manage the situation at Mayottedevastated by the deadly passage of Cyclone Chido ten days ago, in New Caledonia or in the West Indian departments, faced with the problems of high cost of living and inflation.
