French Gov’t Quits After Loss

France’s government resigned Monday, and President Francoise Hollande named Manuel Valls the new prime minister. Valls was France’s interior minister and will replace Jean-Marc Ayrault, who had led the government since Hollande’s May 2012 election. In Sunday's municipal elections, Socialists lost in 155 towns with more than 9,000 inhabitants. The center-right Union for a Popular Movement captured several cities, including Toulouse, while the far-right National Front captured 11 towns of more than 9,000 people. “In voting or in abstaining, you expressed your unhappiness and discontent, and I’ve heard you,” Hollande said in an address to the nation.