I no longer live in Barcelona since my departure from the City Council in 2021 and my return to Paris. But I do not forget my roots, the city where I was born, the city of my father, the painter Xavier Valls, and where I lived for three wonderful years. I am also married to Susana Gallardo, a Barcelona lover of his city.
I led an exciting campaign in 2019 and have only fond memories of this unique experience in Europe, that of a former French Prime Minister returning to his birth city.
My decision to prevent the election of a separatist mayor in June 2019, without any conditions, remains an act that everyone still remembers today.
Some did not understand it at the time because it broke with a way of doing politics.
I am delighted that four years later, other political forces have made the same decision. The announcement of a Trias-Maragall government, a true provocation, threatened to turn Barcelona into a platform for independence without ensuring public policies capable of facing the challenges of the Catalan capital. It is useless to accuse the so-called hidden powers of the State. No one asked me to act one way or the other.
The Junts-ERC agreement demonstrated the will to once again impose a pro-independence reading against constitutionalism. One should not be surprised, then, by the reaction of the commons and the center-right.
The Popular Party has made a difficult decision a few weeks before the general elections, but brave and intelligent, which puts the general interest before partisan interests. I remain convinced that the great constitutionalist and Europeanist parties must regain their strength to unite essentially to ensure the future of Spain, which cannot depend on left or right populists. And even less from the separatist parties.
In life it is important to leave a legacy. I had the opportunity to assume the highest responsibilities in France. But as far as Barcelona is concerned, I am proud to have left a mark, that of a free man who believes that politics should favor the general interest.
