French President Hollande names Valls as new PM

President Francois Hollande on 31 March 2014 appointed Interior Minister Manuel Valls as next prime minister of France.  Manuel Carlos Valls is a Spanish-born French Socialist Party politician. He was the Mayor of Évry from 2001 to 2012 and a Member of the National Assembly since 2002.

Valls replaced PM Jean-Marc Ayrault whose administration lost the confidence of the French in the recently concluded Municipal elections.

In the Municipal elections held on 30 March 2014, both the far-right National Front (FN) and the mainstream opposition made historic gains in Municipal elections 2014.  

Marine Le Pen led FN won control of 11 towns and more than 1200 municipal seats nationwide which is being dubbed as it’s best ever performance at the grassroots level of French government.

On the other hand, the ruling Socialists party lost more than 150 towns and cities of more than 9000 inhabitants. The Socialists have been hit by growing discontent over the economy after struggling to keep unemployment figures down and boost economic growth.

However, the Socialists did retain control of Paris, with their candidate Anne Hidalgo due to become the first female mayor of Paris, the capital of France.