09 May 2017•Update: 09 May 2017
By Hajer M'tiri
PARIS
The French Socialist party is dead, former Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday.
Valls, a former Socialist premier, said he wanted to be a candidate in President-elect Emmanuel Macron’s centrist En Marche! movement in next month’s legislative elections.
"The old parties are dying or have died. The country needs a new vitality, optimism and rally of all those on the left and right to reform the country and defend the EU,” Valls told broadcaster RTL.
"Because I am a man of the left, because I remain a socialist, I am not going to disown 30 years of my political life," Valls added. "I want Emmanuel Macron to succeed.”
Macron was an economy minister in Valls's government from 2014 until he resigned in August 2016 and started En Marche! in April the same year.
The former investment banker resigned from the leadership of En Marche! after his decisive victory over far-right leader Marine le Pen on Sunday.
The movement has decided to change its name to La Republique En March (Republic on the Move) as it campaigns for parliamentary seats.
"I will be a candidate… and I wish to join up with his movement, namely the 'Republic on the Move'," Valls said.
"The essential thing today is to give a broad and coherent majority... to Emmanuel Macron to allow him to govern.
"The Socialist Party is dead, it’s in the past. Not its history and values." He called on the party to “move forward”.
No application
However, Benjamin Griveaux, spokesman for La Republique En March said the movement had yet to receive a candidacy application from Valls.
"He should have applied like everyone else because the rules are the same for everyone. If you don't put your name forward you can't be selected by La Republique En Marche," Griveaux told Europe1 radio.
He added Valls had 24 hours to apply.
The two-round legislative elections are scheduled to take place on June 11 and June 18 to elect the 577 members of the National Assembly, France’s lower and more powerful house of parliament.
In a bid to secure a majority, La Republique En Marche’s secretary-general Richard Ferrand said Monday they would field candidates in every constituency -- 50 percent will be women -- and their names will be unveiled Thursday by noon.
Macron's movement would need to win 290 seats to secure a majority.
The president-elect is set to appoint a prime minister and form a government as soon as he officially takes office on May 14.
