Manuel Valls: this French deputy (7.000 € / month) spends all his time in Spain

Reelected deputy of the 1st district in June 2017, the former Prime Minister is scarce, spending more and more time in Barcelona.

But where is Manuel Valls? He who never missed the back to school in Evry has dried this year. The member did not go to the association forums in his riding any more than he did not miss. He was not present either at the music festival or the fireworks of Evry. Unusual absences that make you talk.

"He is absent," said Farida Amrani (FI), candidate against him in the last legislative elections. You have to read Paris-Match to hear from him! And not only is he not present on the ground, but he also does not sit in the Assembly. "

Even prime minister, he remained omnipresent in Evry

Since 2001, the one who was mayor of Evry, deputy and president of the Evry Center Essonne agglomeration community, has plowed the ground, tirelessly scouring commemorations, meals for seniors, wishes, community forums ... in his constituency . Even after being appointed Minister of the Interior then Prime Minister, Manuel Valls did not miss an opportunity to reconnect with his constituency, proclaiming his attachment to this territory.

But since his reelection, difficult in June 2017, the member has been much rarer. He is still a city councilor of Evry, he has not participated in a municipal council for almost a year. The person acknowledges it himself, "in my riding, my presence is less active than when I was deputy mayor," he confided in June. In question, an agenda of former Prime Minister that led him to give multiple conferences in France and around the world. "It takes a lot of time. "

The other reason for this absence is to look for the other side of the Pyrenees. Last Thursday, the Catalan was on the Ramblas in Barcelona. There, the partisans of the Spanish unity make him the soft eyes and proposed to him to be candidate to the mayor of Barcelona next May. The idea seems to make its way to this child of the country, who should make public his decision by the end of the month.

He will teach in Barcelona

Meanwhile, some clues are beginning to seriously tip the scales. Starting with his idyll, since this summer, with Susana Gallardo, rich Spanish heiress of Almirall pharmaceutical laboratories. And this statement, dated September 5, of the School of Commerce and Law of Barcelona, Esade, announcing that Manuel Valls will be responsible for ten sessions of the course "process of migration and urban geography". On Twitter, the elected official expresses himself more and more often in Spanish.

For the time being neither the interested person nor his relatives wish to make comments. "I do not want to anticipate anything," says Francis Chouat, who succeeded him at the town hall of Evry and head of the agglomeration. Farida Amrani, she has no doubt: "He knows he has no future in France and is an opportunist. He is looking for a new political future. The minimum, once formalized his candidacy for Barcelona, will be to resign out of respect for the voters. "

In the last general elections, all mayors of the constituency, left and right, had called to vote Manuel Valls in the second round, facing the candidate of France Insoumise. Does the slightest investment of the MP on the ground give them regrets?

"When you have a deputy, you rely on his presence, breath Karl Dirat (DVD), Mayor of Villabé. For some time now, we have not seen it anymore. But we see his substitute, Marie-Hélène Bacon. The apostle does not hold it to him as much rigor. "He is always welcome. Although we are not on the same side, we have always had good relationships. We could match Villabé with Barcelona, ​​"he says maliciously.

"He does not have to be physically present. He follows all the topics and can be reached easily, "defends Francis Chouat (DVG), the mayor of Evry. In Corbeil-Essonnes, Jean-Pierre Bechter (LR), says he has not seen "since this summer. But that does not pose a problem for me, everyone lives his life. "Same story for Thierry Lafon (DVD), the Mayor of Lisses:" He is less on the field than before, but he no longer has the same functions. And he remains available to elected officials. I can contact him when I need him, he always answers. "

What confirms Jean Hartz (ex-LR), the mayor of Bondoufle. "He is always available, he follows the records," he says. If he were to leave, I will regret it. As a professional, even if we are not on the same side, but also humanly. I have a lot of friendship and respect for him. "

He had made it his trademark, but this year, the former prime minister remained with absent subscribers. While the candidacy of Manuel Valls to the mayor of Barcelona is more and more likely, the MP for the 1st constituency of Essonne has shunned the forums of associations of the sector. "It's true, usually, we see it every year, recalls Patrick Polverelli, secretary of the chess club Les Fous Villabé and local leader Europe Ecology - The Greens. Earlier, a member asked me if we still saw in Essonne. I remember a year when he even started a game of chess with us. "

Olivier Vernay, President of the Tennis Club adds: "This is absolutely not against him, but the presence of a member of a forum, whatever it is, does not change our activity. The public liked to have their picture taken with them, but for us, the associations, the visits of politicians do not bring anything ... When we have a question or something to be traced, we address directly to the mayor. "

At the entrance of the forum, the president of the volunteer gym association Guy Michaud does not take offense at the absence of Manuel Valls. "He is not here today, but the work is done, his substitute was present, he notes. We all move at some point in our career, I understand that he has other priorities right now. But I do not have the impression that he has abandoned the territory. He left a structure behind him that continues to do the job. That's what you expect from a real manager. "

SAISI