“TRUTH, efficiency, confidence.” Under this guiding trinity, Manuel Valls made his inaugural speech as prime minister on April 8th, promising budget savings and tax cuts that amount to an about-turn in policy. There would be no more tax increases, Mr Valls declared, and businesses needed to be supported, not caricatured and maligned. But at the same time, he made clear that he was quite prepared to put his country on yet another collision course with Brussels rather than “destroy growth” by sticking too rigidly to France’s fiscal commitments.The prime minister’s speech to a rowdy parliament was strong on passion. “Few countries in the world allow foreign-born citizens to reach the top of government,” he said, speaking as somebody born in Spain. It was also heavy on ambition. Mr Valls promised to halve the number of regions to 11 by 2017 and scrap elected assemblies in departments by 2021. Bureaucratic France has 90 public-sector staff per 1,000 people compared to 50 in Germany. Most enjoy almost total job security. These radical measures imply a cull that will inevitably be seen as a direct assault on local Socialist officials who form the…
