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Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls speaks at a press conference in Barcelona, Spain, to announce his candidacy for mayor of Barcelona on Tuesday 25 September 2018. (Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press)
BARCELONA, Spain – Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday launched an offer to become mayor of Barcelona in an election next year with the aim of "saving" the Catalan capital from "deterioration".
Valls, 56, born in Barcelona but raised in France and made a career in local and national politics, said he would resign as a French legislator to focus on his bid in the neighboring country.
His move to Spanish politics raises the issue of the May election as a battleground between those who want the rich region of northeastern Catalonia to separate or remain in Spain.
After months of negotiations with the anti-secession party Ciutadans (Citizens), Valls finally announced Tuesday that he was choosing to carry an independent ticket. His offer has the support of the center-right Spanish party led by Albert Rivera, but Valls said he was seeking broader support.
"Barcelona should be an antidote to populism," Valls said, adding that the city "must be a meeting point and a space for coexistence".
But instead of focusing on the territorial dispute, Valls has chosen to focus on projects aimed at strengthening security and tackling the city's inequality of 1.6 million, while promising efforts to stimulate greater prosperity. local economy
The city, he said, rocking between Catalan and Spanish in a crowded auditorium, "is deteriorating and none of us should be indifferent".
The comment was an attack on former incumbent president, Ada Colau. The former anti-eviction activist wants to be re-elected but faces growing criticism for her management of street vendors and the prevalence of drug trafficking in the city center.
Valls has been known in French politics for more than ten years. He was mayor of Evry, a city in the suburbs of Paris, before becoming Minister of the Interior in 2012 and Prime Minister between 2014 and 2016, while Francois Hollande was the country's president.
After failing in his bid to become presidential candidate last year, Valls left the Socialist Party and joined Emmanuel Macron's centrist Republic on the Move.
Valls announced Tuesday that he would leave his seat in the French National Assembly.
French political opponents, left and right, have criticized him in recent weeks to keep his salary when launching a political career abroad.
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