France's former Prime Minister, socialist Manuel Valls, has said he will vote for centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron over the contender from his own party, Benoit Hamon, to prevent Marine Le Pen from winning the presidential election.

Macron is currently leading in the opinion polls, while far-right candidate Le Pen is in second place. Meanwhile socialist candidate Hamon is polling in fifth place and not expected to progress past the first round. Hamon beat Valls in the race for the Socialist candidacy.

"I'm not taking any risks," Valls told French broadcaster BFM TV. "I will vote for Emmanuel Macron." He is the biggest socialist name to withdraw support for his party's official nominee and back another candidate instead.

Valls stressed that although he will vote for Macron, he will not campaign for his progressive movement En Marche! "I have nothing to negotiate and am not asking for anything. I'm not joining his camp," he told BFM TV.

The endorsement is a mixed blessing for Macron who has tried to cast himself as a candidate bridging the divide between left and right-wing politics, rather than as a nominee for the unpopular Socialist party.

When asked at a news conference about Valls' promise to back his candidacy, Macron said: "I'm suspicious of the hidden agenda of politicians."

The rivalry between Valls and Hamon predates their presidential campaigns. Hamon signed a motion of no-confidence against Valls' government last year, when a controversial labour reform by the former Prime Minister left the Socialist Party divided.

After Valls announced his support for Macron, Hamon hit back. "This sort of soap opera is meant to weaken me," he told France 2 TV. "I'm running my campaign by talking about the French's daily life, not Valls's life." </s> French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron has won the backing of Socialist former prime minister Manuel Valls.

Mr Valls said on BFM television that he will vote for centrist Mr Macron in the two-round presidential vote on April 23 and May 7 “because I think we must take no risk for the Republic”.

Mr Valls considers the independent as the best candidate to face far-right leader Marine le Pen.

His move is a further blow to the campaign of Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon.

Polls suggest Mr Macron is the front-runner in the election, whereas Mr Hamon has no chance to advance to the run-off.

Mr Macron thanked Mr Valls for his support on Europe 1 radio, but said he would not be part of his government if elected, because he wants to renew France’s political elites.

Mr Valls’s decision is infuriating some Socialists, already deeply divided over the legacy of unpopular president Francois Hollande’s term.

“Our candidate, after the primary and the unanimous (political) convention of the Socialists, is Benoit Hamon”, the first secretary of the Socialist party Jean-Christophe Cambadelis wrote in a statement.

Mr Valls, as a contender in the Socialist primary, had pledged to support the winner of the vote.

Former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg described him as a “man without honour” in a tweet. </s> Benoît Hamon and Manuel Valls on Sunday advanced to the second round of France’s left-wing primary, setting up a battle for who will represent the ruling Socialists in the upcoming presidential election, but also for the soul of their party.

Hamon, 49, delivered the latest unexpected turn to a presidential race already full of surprises when he finished a decisive first on Sunday evening. The one-time underdog claimed more than 36 percent of all votes cast in the first round of the primary organized by the Socialist Party, but that also included allied, micro-parties.

In one week, he will face off against Manuel Valls, a former prime minister who was long touted as the frontrunner of the primary, but who nevertheless managed to save face by winning around 31 percent support and make it into the run-off.

“Left-wing constituents voted with their hearts and have not given up,” Hamon, a former education minister and admirer of US Senator Bernie Sanders, said in a victory speech as his campaign’s headquarters in Paris.

His triumph at the ballot box was then sweetened by an endorsement by primary rival Arnaud Montebourg, who came in third place with around 18 percent of votes.

Speaking to supporters late on Sunday, Valls described the upcoming duel as a simple choice between “certain defeat” in the presidential election if Hamon is chosen, and “possible victory” if he is picked as the Socialist’s nominee.

Vincent Peillon, who came in fourth place with around 7 percent of votes, also addressed the press following the primary results, but refused to back either Hamon or Valls.

“Clearly this is going to be major choice for the Socialist Party,” said FRANCE 24 politics editor Marc Perelman, noting that Hamon and Valls represent extreme opposites within the political camp.

Valls, 54, has angered many left-wing sympathisers by championing pro-market economic policies alongside President François Hollande, while approving a state of emergency restricting civil liberties after a series of terrorist attacks.

Hamon and Montebourg are among a list of former ministers who quit Hollande’s government in protest over the pro-business turn.

Hamon – who supports implementing a universal basic income and shortening the work week from 35 to 32 hours – addressed this rift directly as he proclaimed victory on Sunday. “By putting me in the lead, you have sent a clear message of hope and renewal, the desire to write a new chapter for the left in France,” he said.

“Not that long ago Valls said that there were two lefts that could no longer be reconciled,” Perelman reminded. “But those two lefts will be face to face next Sunday. The question for Socialists is does the party go with Valls and towards the centre, or with Hamon and move to the left?”

Around 2 million people participated in Sunday’s left-wing primary, which was open to any eligible French voter or Socialist Party member who was willing to part with 1 euro.

While turnout might have exceeded the 1.5-million target set by Socialist Party organisers, it was still less than half of the 4.3 million people who cast ballots in France’s conservative primary in November.

Experts said it would prove difficult for either Hamon or Valls to pivot to the general election, after five years of Socialist rule marked by fears of rising immigration and by the failure to significantly lower unemployment.

“Tomorrow the Socialist Party chiefs are going to congratulate themselves on the great turnout, because no one would have predicted they would get that many voters just yesterday,” Cecile Alduy, an associate professor at Stanford University, told FRANCE 24.

“At the same time, 2 million people is not that much, and also it's people who are extremely politicised and on the left. Down the road, the Socialists are going to go against a much bigger electorate that is not going to be sensitive to the same kinds of arguments,” she added.

Indeed, polls show the mainstream left is not expected to perform well in France’s presidential and parliamentary elections this upcoming spring.

Whoever wins the left-wing primary is expected to finish in only fifth place in the race for the Elysée Palace.

Opinions polls reveal Hamon or Valls would lose to conservative nominee François Fillon, but also far-right leader Marine Le Pen, radical-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.

“We must now amplify the movement… strengthen it even more,” Hamon said on Sunday, hoping the primary will help infuse what has been announced as a fated presidential campaign with fresh momentum.

He and Valls will face off in a last televised debate on Wednesday, before the second round poll on January 29. </s> PARIS (AP) — France's presidential hopeful Manuel Valls, who seeks the Socialist nomination, has pledged to tax U.S. imports if President Donald Trump pulls his country out of the global climate deal reached in Paris in 2015.

Valls proposed a carbon tax on American goods while speaking Monday on RTL radio. He said: "When Donald Trump declares some kind of economic war on Europe, we must be ready."

Valls, a former prime minister, is facing ex-government member Benoit Hamon in the country's Socialist presidential primary runoff Sunday.

Candidate for the French left's presidential primaries ahead of the 2017 presidential election and former Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, addresses his supporters at his headquarters in Paris, France, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Partial results suggest that Manuel Valls, a center-leaning former prime minister who rallied France together after extremist attacks, will confront stalwart Socialist Benoit Hamon in the country's left-wing presidential primary runoff next week. (AP Photo/Zacharie Scheurer)

Hamon said environmental and climate issues are among his priorities.

During his campaign, Trump suggested he was keeping an open mind about climate change and about whether he'll pull the U.S. out of the global emissions-cutting deal struck in Paris.

Candidate for the French left's presidential primaries ahead of the 2017 presidential election and former Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, waves after addressing his supporters at his headquarters in Paris, France, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Partial results suggest that Manuel Valls, a center-leaning former prime minister who rallied France together after extremist attacks, will confront stalwart Socialist Benoit Hamon in the country's left-wing presidential primary runoff next week. (AP Photo/Zacharie Scheurer)

Candidate for the French left's presidential primaries ahead of the 2017 presidential election, Benoit Hamon, gives thumbs up while addressing his supporters at his headquarters in Paris, France, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Partial results suggest that Manuel Valls, a center-leaning former prime minister who rallied France together after extremist attacks, will confront stalwart Socialist Benoit Hamon in the country's left-wing presidential primary runoff next week. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnnioglu)

Candidate for the French left's presidential primaries ahead of the 2017 presidential election, Benoit Hamon, addresses his supporters at his headquarters in Paris, France, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Partial results suggest that Manuel Valls, a center-leaning former prime minister who rallied France together after extremist attacks, will confront stalwart Socialist Benoit Hamon in the country's left-wing presidential primary runoff next week. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnnioglu) </s> French former Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Wednesday he would vote for Emmanuel Macron in the coming presidential election, the biggest Socialist party name to date to turn his back on its official candidate and back the centrist instead.

Valls, a Socialist himself, said the election was wide-open and he would do all he could to ensure that far-right leader Marine Le Pen, second-placed in opinion polls did not win power.

“I’m not going to take any risks,” Valls told BFM TV. “I will vote for Emmanuel Macron.”

French opinion polls show Macron winning the election in a second-round vote where he would face off against Le Pen with Socialist Benoit Hamon set for a humiliating fifth place in the first round eliminator.

Valls said his choice did not mean he would campaign behind the 39 year-old Macron – a fellow minister in President Francois Hollande’s government from 2014, but who quit last year to prepare a presidential bid under his own political banner En Marche! (Onwards!).

“I have nothing to negotiate and am not asking for anything, I’m not joining his camp,” Valls said.

Valls’ endorsement is a mixed blessing for Macron, who has sought to avoid being cast as the candidate of the unpopular outgoing Socialist administration, instead pitching himself as willing to bridge the traditional left-right political divide.

“I’m suspicious of the hidden agenda of politicians,” Macron told a news conference on Tuesday amid growing talk that Valls was about to make his intentions known.

Valls, who lost to radical leftwinger Benoit Hamon in the primaries, is seen as waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces of the Socialist party after the presidential race and build a reformist force in parliament to get a say in a Macron parliamentary majority.

The pro-business former premier has been scathing about his former education minister.

Hamon signed a motion of no-confidence against Valls’ government last year, when the ruling Socialists split over a controversial labour reform led by Valls.

“I’m not surprised,” he told France 2 television. “This sort of soap opera is meant to weaken me. I’m running my campaign by talking about the French’s daily life, not Valls’ life.” </s> Valls' throwing his support behind Macron is a potential blow to ruling Socialist Party candidate Benoit Hamon, who defeated Valls in the party's January nominating primary.

"Manuel Valls will soon call on voters to support his former rival Emmanuel Macron, and this, from as early as the first round of the election," Le Parisien said, citing a source in Valls' primary campaign.

Neither Valls nor Macron's campaign could be reached for comment. A source close to Valls told Reuters the Parisien report went too far because it was too early and Valls had not decided yet.

Socialist Party official Carlos Da Silva, who was Valls' substitute in the National Assembly while he was prime minister, said on his Twitter account the Parisien story was false. He did not provide further details.

Both Hamon and Macron were ministers in governments headed by Valls.

Recent opinion polls show Macron as the front-runner in the election and that he will go on to defeat far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a runoff, while Hamon will be eliminated in the first round. </s> PARIS, March 29 (Reuters) - Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Wednesday he would vote for Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, the biggest Socialist Party name to date to turn his back on its official candidate and support the centrist instead.

While it was not clear if the defection would benefit poll favourite Macron, who politely thanked Valls, it prompted angry responses from many Socialists and media speculation about the survival of the largest left-wing party.

Valls, whose announcement came days after veteran Socialist defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian deserted to Macron, said he wanted to do all he could to ensure that far-right leader Marine Le Pen, second-placed in opinion polls, did not win power.

"I'm not going to take any risks," Valls said, adding that he believed Le Pen's score potential was seriously underrated.

"I will vote for Emmanuel Macron," he told BFM TV.

French opinion polls show Macron winning the presidency in a second-round vote on May 7 where he would face off against Le Pen. They show Socialist Benoit Hamon set for a humiliating fifth place in the first round eliminator on April 23.

Hamon denounced Valls' defection and called on all left-wingers to unite behind him 25 days from round one of the election.

"I urge you to sanction those who've started this morbid game...those who no longer believe in anything," he said in a statement. Valls said his choice did not mean he would campaign for 39-year-old Macron -- a fellow minister in President Francois Hollande's government from 2014, but who quit last year to prepare a presidential bid under his own political banner En Marche! (Onwards!).

Valls, who lost to radical left-winger Hamon in the Socialist primaries, is seen by political sources and experts as likely to wait in the wings and seek to build a reformist parliamentary force that would be distinct from En Marche!, but which could get a say in its parliamentary majority should Macron become president.

"I have nothing to negotiate and am not asking for anything, I'm not joining his camp," Valls said. "But nothing will be the same after this presidential election...the duty of reformists is to play their part in a governing parliamentary majority."

Macron, who has drawn support from the political right as well as left, was also quick to say he did not plan to bring Valls into his government.

"I shall be the guarantor of new faces, new ways of doing things," he said on Europe 1 Radio.

The news came a day after third-placed candidate Francois Fillon, under formal judicial investigation on suspicion of financial impropriety, suffered a further blow when his British wife Penelope was put under formal investigation as well.

The inquiry centres on allegations that the couple misused hundreds of thousands of euros in public funds, with him paying her a lavish tax-funded salary for minimal work as his parliamentary assistant.

Francois Fillon has conceded what he called errors of judgment but denies doing anything illegal.

Valls' endorsement is a mixed blessing for Macron, even though their political views are not far apart.

For many Socialists, and above all candidate Hamon, Valls' decision comes from a man who represents Hollande's rightward turn during his five-year mandate towards the business-friendly reforms that upset the left and alienated core voters.

The blow for Hamon clearly compounded existing left-right splits within the party.

"Everybody now knows what a commitment signed by a man like Manuel Valls is worth," Arnaud Montebourg, a more hardline leftist in the Socialist Party, said on Twitter.

"You don't smash the table when you have a family dispute," said Francois Kalfon, another hardliner. "Manuel Valls is digging his own grave." </s> PARIS (Reuters) - Benoit Hamon, a former Socialist government rebel won the first round of a primary on Sunday and will meet ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in a runoff to decide who will be the candidate of the beleaguered left in a presidential election in spring.

Hamon, 48, a traditional leftwinger who was sacked from government by President Francois Hollande for criticizing his economic policies, coasted to a comfortable win ahead of Valls, a former Hollande loyalist in government, according to partial results.

With the field now whittled down from seven candidates to two and Valls and Hamon set to meet mid-week for what could be a testy televised debate, the final outcome was hard to predict.

But former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, who trailed in third place, gave Hamon, a party ally on the left, an advantage by criticizing Valls’s pro-business policies and urging his supporters to vote for Hamon next Sunday.

Either way, opinion polls indicate that no Socialist candidate has much chance of getting beyond the first round of the election in April-May after five years of unpopular rule by Hollande.

The Socialist party, for decades one of the main political forces in France, has become marginalized as Hollande failed to bring high unemployment down and alienated left-wing voters with his economic policies.

But the Socialists’ final choice on January 29 could have an impact on the election fortunes of the front-runners for the Elysee - conservative Francois Fillon, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and popular independent Emmanuel Macron.

Polls indicate Fillon, a former prime minister who has The Republicans ticket, is most likely to win if he is pitted against National Front leader Le Pen in a May 7 head-to-head.

But Macron, a 39-year-old former banker and one-time economy minister who pushes a centrist agenda and tries to appeal to both left and Right is attracting large crowds to rallies and could yet upset the balance.

Manuel Valls, former French Prime Minister and candidate in the left's first-round presidential primaries, attends a political rally as he campaigns in Paris, France, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

CENTRE-GROUND BATTLE

The Spanish-born Valls, who implemented pro-business policies under Hollande to the consernation of the traditional left-wing, appeals to a more moderate electorate and will pose a greater challenge to Macron for the center ground.

Conversely, political commentators say a traditional Socialist such as Hamon, who wants to legalize cannabis and establish a basic state income level of 600 euros per month for all adults, will benefit Macron in his campaign.

“I can see the first bricks with which we can reconstruct the left and reunite the left and then also rebuild hope and share this with the people of France,” Hamon said in a short address to his supporters after the result.

Valls, 54, in combative mood, suggested that Hamon stood no chance of pulling off victory in spring and that he alone would be able to turn the tide against the odds.

“We face a choice now between certain defeat and possible victory, between unrealistic promises that cannot be financed and a credible left that can bear responsibilities,” Valls said, referring to Hamon’s proposal on basic income.

Partial results showed that with half the vote counted, Hamon had won 35.2 percent and Valls about 31 percent. Montebourg had about 18 percent.

Calling on his supporters to vote for Hamon next Sunday, Montebourg said: “Voters massively and seriously rejected those who carried out free-market, austerity policies during the presidential term.”

Hamon and Montebourg were kicked out of Valls’s government in 2014 for criticizing economic policies which they said were too business-friendly.

Slideshow (2 Images)

The program of Fillon, seen as the election front-runner, includes cutting business taxes, relaxing labor laws and scrapping the 35-hour working week in an attempt to boost growth, while also eliminating half a million public sector jobs as part of a drive to shrink the state sector.

Anyone who pledged allegiance to the political values of the left and paid a one euro fee were able to vote in the primary. Organizers of the primary said there had been a turnout close to two million. </s> French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Monday announced his candidacy for next year’s presidential election, saying he will step down from his current job to focus on his bid.

Valls will face other contenders in the Socialist primary next month.

“I want to give everything for France,” the 54-year-old said in a speech in the Paris suburb of Evry, adding he would quit as prime minister on Tuesday.

Valls’ announcement comes a few days after unpopular president Francois Hollande said he will not run again, in the hope of giving the Socialist party a chance to win in the April-May presidential election with a different candidate.

Valls said he wants to defeat the far-right, led by National Front leader Marine Le Pen, and conservative candidate Francois Fillon.

A centre-leaning Socialist with a tough line on security and immigration, Valls is somewhat more popular than his boss, but their party is in deep disarray over the government’s handling of the economy.

He is now considered the favourite for the Socialist primary, but needs to overcome divisions within the party.

“My candidacy is that of conciliation, of reconciliation,” Valls promised.

Former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg and former education minister Benoit Hamon, who have joined a group of Socialist rebels opposed to Valls’ pro-business policies, have announced their candidacy, alongside other lower-profile candidates.
Former candidate Manuel Valls (PS) announces his support for Emmanuel Macron (En Marche!) rather than for his own party's nominee, Benoît Hamon.