Former French prime minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday he was leaving the Socialist Party and is ready to join forces with President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist group in parliament – assuming they want him. France 24 reports.
Valls, who served as interior minister and then prime minister under former president François Hollande, told French radio that he was walking away from the battered Socialist Party.
“Part of my political life is coming to an end. I am leaving the Socialist Party, or the Socialist Party is leaving me,” the 54-year-old told RTL radio.
The pugnacious, Spanish-born politician was rejected by Socialist party voters in a primary to choose a presidential candidate for this year’s election.
He then infuriated many within the party by announcing he would vote for Macron instead of the Socialist primary winner, Benoît Hamon.