France’s interior minister Manuel Valls was named Prime Minister on Monday (31 March) by centre-left president Francois Hollande.
The 51-year old Valls replaced Jean-Marc Ayrault, who quit after the French socialist government took a beating by both centre-right and far-right groups in local elections.
But Valls, also known as top cop or "premier flic" in France, has drawn criticism from pro-rights group for his law and order drive against the minority Roma population.
“The...
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Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.