The French left abandons its peaceful ways for the needs of realpolitik and hard choices that accompany the fight against terrorism; keeping in line with the European point of view that such business is not for the public eye. -Vasilis Chronopoulos    

“We are at war, we must protect the French people,” said former prime minister Manuel Valls at the first of four debates among seven candidates vying for the left-wing nomination for the upcoming presidential election.

But “on these subjects, when what has to be done must be done, what must be kept secret must be kept secret”, Valls added. “This is how we embody the authority of the state and, above all, how we protect the French people.”

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