VALLS MANUAL. Eliminated in the first round of the legislative elections, will the former Prime Minister definitively withdraw from political life after this new failure?
Another political failure for Manuel Valls. The former Prime Minister of François Hollande, candidate in the legislative elections, was eliminated in the first round of the ballot, he who aspired to become a deputy for the 5th constituency of French people living abroad, namely Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Monaco. The former mayor of Evry (Essonne) only won 15.85% of the votes cast, being overtaken by Renaud Le Berre (NUPES, 27.24%) and Stéphane Vojetta (25.39%), the LREM dissident. Because if the latter, outgoing deputy of the majority, had not been invested by the presidential party, he had nevertheless maintained his candidacy while the one who was also Minister of the Interior had won the nomination and therefore carried the macronist colors for this election. A parachuting which had not failed to cause controversy and which seems to have led to the fall of the sexagenarian, who admitted that “my candidacy did not convince”, in a message published on Twitter, although he felt that ” dissent and division have sown confusion.”
If he had been re-elected deputy for the 1st constituency of Essonne in 2017, Manuel Valls had given up his mandate in October 2018 to embark on a new political conquest: that of the town hall of Barcelona. The Catalan by birth was running for the municipality, which he did not win, finishing 4th in the 1st round in May 2019. A city which, during these legislative elections, only made him arrive in 3rd position, as on the entire constituency. A new setback for the one who had also targeted the PS nomination for the 2017 presidential election, in vain. The legislative elections, one defeat too many? “Life is good enough to turn the pages quietly,” added Manuel Valls on Twitter, hinting that he could therefore retire from political life for good. A hypothesis that quickly gained momentum after the now ex-candidate deleted his Twitter account, on which he had posted a few minutes earlier: “It is up to me lucidly to draw the consequences.”
Manuel Valls defeated in the first round of the 2022 legislative elections
After his failure in the municipal elections in Barcelona, Manuel Valls therefore reappeared in the French political and media space. Taking a position in favor of Emmanuel Macron, the former Prime Minister had finally been invested by La République en Marche to wear the colors of the presidential party, particularly in Spain, because of his dual Franco-Spanish nationality. But faced with this parachuting, Stéphane Vojetta, outgoing LREM deputy, had maintained his candidacy as a macronist dissident. Valls mayonnaise never took. If he came first in Andorra (105 votes) and Monaco (222), but also second in Portugal (977 votes behind Laurent Goater -LR-, 979 votes), Manuel Valls was soundly beaten in Barcelona ( 1059 votes against 1660 for Vojetta and 2701 for Renaud Le Berre, NUPES candidate) and Madrid (1533 votes against 3097 for Vojetta and 2825 for Le Berre). In total, Manuel Valls recorded only 15% of the votes cast against 27% for Renaud Le Berre and 25% for Stéphane Vojetta.
After his defeat, Manuel Valls deletes his Twitter account
Look no further for Manuel Valls on Twitter. A few hours after acknowledging and recording his defeat in the first round of the legislative elections, the former deputy deleted his account on the social network. “Farewell Twitter” he simply posted a few moments before, after having expressed himself, in various tweets, about his defeat. “I take note of the results on the 5th circo of French people abroad. First of all, I want to thank the voters who trusted me, also salute the commitment of my deputy Thierry Burtin, our good score in Portugal owes him thank you also to all my campaign team. If dissent and division have sown confusion, I cannot ignore my score and the fact that my candidacy did not convince. An election is a moment of truth. It is up to me to lucidly draw the consequences. Life is good enough to quietly turn the pages,” he commented. Before concluding: “goodbye Twitter…”