It is a new stone on the path that Manuel Valls is trying to take to return to the forefront of the French political scene. His candidacy for the legislative elections in the 5e constituency of French people living abroad – which includes Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Monaco – caused consternation within the local branch of La République en Marche (LRM).
So much so that the outgoing deputy, Stéphane Vojetta, a 47-year-old former investment banker, who has been living in Madrid for twenty years and who has been involved since 2017 in the creation of the local LRM delegation, has made the decision to ” resist and maintains his candidacy. “I imagine that I will be expelled from the party, and treated as a dissident, but once elected, I have no doubt that I will be reinstated in LRM or in another party of the presidential majority”, he explains to Mondeas certain of winning as he fears to see LRM lose if the second round opposed the candidate of the left to Manuel Valls.
After leading the campaign locally for the re-election to the Elysee Palace of Emmanuel Macron – who obtained nearly 40% of the votes in the first round and nearly 80% in the second, Mr. Vojetta learned in the press the appointment of Manuel Valls, of which he points out ” unpopularity with the French of the constituency ». “I imagine that Macron ended up giving in to the relentlessness of Valls. But LRM is my family and I will fight to defend the values that I have been carrying for five years: meritocracy, proximity, loyalty, consistency, far from parachuting and returns of favor, he adds. It is also my responsibility to correct the mistakes of my political family when I see them…”
“Parachuting in all its glory”
The former prime minister certainly moved to Barcelona in 2018, but he has hardly been involved with the French community. Candidate for the municipal elections of Barcelona, in 2019, where he obtained only 13% of the votes, he ended up giving up Spanish politics in August 2021 to become a columnist on RMC and BFMTV, while expressing his wish to return to the French politics.
“I was nominated as a candidate by the presidential majority at the request of Emmanuel Macron, insists, with the Monde, Manuel Valls. I am serene, this candidacy is a good synthesis of my journey between France and Spain. I want to convince voters that it is a chance for them to have a former prime minister with a strong voice to defend them. And for me, it’s an honor. There is only one candidate. Loyalty to the presidential majority means respecting nominations. I’m not going to nitpick. Mr Vojetta has only been an MP since October [2021]. He was a substitute. The one who was elected is Samantha Cazebonne [partie au Sénat depuis] and she is by my side. »
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