French PM Manuel Valls quits to enter presidential race

TIL Desk/World/Paris-French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is set to resign today to free himself to do battle for the Socialist nomination in next year’s presidential election. Announcing his candidacy yesterday France’s prime minister of the past two-and-a-half years said he would step down to try to rally the fractured left ahead of a primary in January.

Health Minister Marisol Touraine and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are among those tipped to succeed him as premier for the six months until the next legislative elections. In a combative speech, 54-year-old Valls vowed to take the fight to the conservative opposition and the far-right National Front, who are both leading the Socialists in election polls.

His announcement came four days after President Francois Hollande announced he would bow out after a single term, paving the way for Valls to try to become the left’s new standard bearer. “My candidacy is one of reconciliation,” Valls, seen as a divisive figure, said in a speech from his political base in the tough Paris suburb of Evry.