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| French President Hollande 'to name Valls as new PM' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| French President Francois Hollande is to name Interior Minister Manuel Valls as the new prime minister, reports say. | |
| Mr Hollande's ruling Socialists are badly bruised after local elections which saw big gains for conservatives and the far-right National Front (FN). | |
| Mr Valls is set to replace PM Jean-Marc Ayrault, whose office confirmed his resignation on Monday. | |
| President Hollande, whose popularity has slumped, will address the nation at 20:00 local time (1800 GMT). | |
| Opinion polls suggest that Mr Valls, 51, is popular - including among right-wing voters. | |
| The second round of municipal elections on Sunday saw the Socialists lose more than 150 towns and cities of more than 9,000 inhabitants. Results are still being counted. | |
| The FN won control of 11 towns, mainly in the south. | |
| The main centre-right opposition, the UMP, was said to have captured a number of key cities, including Toulouse, Quimper, Limoges and Saint-Etienne. | |
| UMP leader Jean-Francois Cope hailed what he called a "blue wave" of support for his party. | |
| The Socialists have been hit by growing discontent over the economy after struggling to keep unemployment figures down and spur economic growth. | |
| Prior to his resignation, Mr Ayrault acknowledged that many voters had lost confidence in his administration. |