Former prime minister Valls lifts French independent Macron’s election hopes
Paris — Emmanuel Macron solidified his position as the frontrunner in the French presidential election, picking up a key endorsement as rival Francois Fillon’s legal woes continued. Former prime minister Manuel Valls said he would vote for Macron in the first round of the presidential race on April 23 instead of Socialist Benoit Hamon, setting off a crisis within France’s oldest party. Valls said the 39-year-old independent is best-placed to stop the National Front’s Marine Le Pen and her bid to take France out of the euro. With just more than three weeks before the first round of voting, polls show Macron and Le Pen are most likely to qualify for the May 7 runoff while voters look set to eliminate both the main parties’ candidates for the first time since France began directly electing its presidents 50 years ago. "One must not take any risks with the republic," Valls said in an interview with RMC radio. "Therefore, I’ll vote for Macron. The interests of France are above that of th...
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