French President Francois Hollande named Interior Minister Manuel Valls as new prime minister Monday after the ruling Socialist party suffered bruising losses to conservatives and far-right National Front in local elections.
In a prerecorded televised speech, Hollande said Valls, who is consistently voted as France’s most popular politicians, would lead a “combative government.”
Hollande, whose own unpopularity has held dragged down the Socialists, acknowledged that “it’s time to start a new stage.”
Valls, 51, who comes from the right-wing of the Socialist party, replaces Prime Minister Jean-Marc-Marc Ayrault, who resigned Monday.
“This evening is a moment of truth. There is no getting away from it: this vote is a defeat for the government … and I take my part of the blame,” Ayrault said on national television late Sunday, USA Today informs.
