海角大神

France鈥檚 new Prime Minister Manuel Valls, a tough-talking polarizing figure, is a risky choice for President Fran莽ois Hollande.

But Mr. Valls' appeal is stronger than any controversy he has sparked while serving as interior minister with a well earned reputation as France's 鈥渢op cop.鈥� In fact, Valls effuses exactly what the French say their current leadership is lacking: strength and decisiveness.

Mr. Hollande is the country鈥檚 least popular president in modern history, a fact underscored by his Socialist party's bruising municipal elections over the weekend. That鈥檚 because voters say he has repeatedly failed to follow through on the promises he鈥檚 made in two years as president.

But what voters most blame him for is his tentativeness as the nation鈥檚 head-of-state. With his cabinet reshuffle, Hollande has promised the nation a new 鈥渃ombat government.鈥�

鈥淭he French do expect from their head of government a strong hand at the helm,鈥� says聽Steven Ekovich, a foreign policy expert at the American University of Paris. 鈥淎ll presidents up until Hollande have adhered to the image that the French expect.鈥�

France gives more powers to its president than American democracy would tolerate. Strong presidents have their foundation in the French monarchy. The modern authority of the president was constitutionally established by Charles de Gaulle, in the 1958 constitution of the Fifth Republic.

If the late de Gaulle epitomizes the French expectation of a strong leader, Hollande has been the opposite.聽The highlight of his presidency so far was a firm decision to send troops to Mali in early 2013 鈥� which pollsters attribute to a rare display of resoluteness.

Valls could give voters a new sense of a presidency in charge. 鈥淰alls [has] the allure of someone who can bring order to things,鈥� Mr. Ekovich says.

The new prime minister is an unapologetic supporter of the ban on full-face veils in French public life and has taken hardline positions on evicting Roma from illegal camps. He has cracked down on youth crime and sent in riot police to quell gang violence in the port town Marseille.

While Valls' moves have been viewed warily in some corners, he remains the nation鈥檚 most popular politician. In a BVA poll released today, carried out before the reshuffle, voters said of all the ministers they鈥檇 like to see remain in office, Valls tops the list.

In a poll BVA carried out specifically about Valls last October, respondents described him with the words 鈥渃ourageous,鈥� 鈥渃ompetent,鈥� 鈥渉aving deep convictions,鈥� and 鈥渃onvincing.鈥� But 鈥渁uthoritarian鈥� and 鈥渋mpulsive鈥� were also commonly mentioned.聽聽

His biggest risk to Hollande, however, is political. Within the Socialist Party, Valls is viewed as a maverick, having attacked France鈥檚 35-hour work week. Hollande is already under attack within his party with his聽announcement in January to adopt more business-friendly policies.

As an editorial in today鈥檚 right-leaning Figaro puts it: 鈥淭he new Socialist prime minister has a singular particularity: he has forged his identity, and without doubt his popularity, by regularly criticizing the Social Party.鈥�