Bernard Cazeneuve named French prime minister as Manuel Valls resigns to run for president

Bernard Cazeneuve becomes French prime minister

(Image credit: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images))

last updated 6 December 2016

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls resigned on Tuesday to mount a bid for the Socialist presidential nomination, and President Francois Hollande replaced him with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Valls will face at least seven rivals in the Socialist primary, and if he wins, he will compete against Republican nominee Francois Fillon and Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front. Hollande is not running for re-election, he announced last week. Cazeneuve, 51, is a close ally of Hollande and gained a high profile through his work in the aftermath of several Islamist terrorist attacks in France, including his push for new security laws. Hollande named Bruno Le Roux, a Socialist leader in parliament, as the new interior minister.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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