French ex-premier gives backing to Macron

Former French prime minister Manuel Valls says he is backing president-elect Emmanuel Macron's political movement in June's parliamentary elections.

Former French prime minister Manuel Valls says France's Socialist party "is dead" and that he wants to run under the banner of President-elect Emmanuel Macron's political movement in June's parliamentary elections.

Valls, a centre-leaning politician in favour of relaxing labour protections, had already thrown his support behind Macron before the presidential election after losing to Benoit Hamon in the Socialist primary.

Valls told RTL radio on Tuesday that Macron's victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the presidential runoff on Sunday was a blow to populism in Europe, and gave a "terrific" image of France abroad.

Valls said that "I will be a candidate in the presidential majority and I wish to join up to his movement, the Republic on the Move."


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world