As a candidate for the National Assembly for the French who live in Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Monaco, Manuel Valls avoids commenting on Spanish politics, but responds by phone to questions from La Vanguardia to deal with the controversy over the alleged espionage during the negotiations that in 2019 led Ada Colau to repeat as mayor, in which the former French prime minister was a leading actor.
Ernest Maragall has spoken of "intervened elections" and affirms that you were "commissioned" to prevent a pro-independence City Council.
Here there is no state operation or need to spy on anyone. The very night of the elections I said in my speech that there were many possibilities. The mistake was one of Maragall's arrogance in assuming that he would be mayor. He needed an agreement with the commons and that there be no alternative. But my vote changes history.
Did you receive instructions to offer your support to Colau?
Although I did not have the expected results, the French tradition is to choose the lesser evil. It was like a second round. I spoke with Miquel Iceta, then leader of the PSC, and Jaume Collboni.
And with Colau?
No. I did not negotiate with her. He still lives with the original sin of that vow. The strategy was very clear. Colau does not see it on election day, he sees it as impossible. But my declaration and the attitude of the socialists make his re-election possible. So, he crossed Plaça Sant Jaume and people shouted at him a whore, a traitor... It was shocking. That gave the dimension of what was happening. That was absolute transparency.
Didn't you talk to anyone from the Spanish government?
Never. I want to prevent a pro-independence mayor and nobody tells me what I have to do. I have many flaws, but I act freely, alone. And he had no relationship with the Government, I can even tell you that he had no relationship with Pedro Sánchez, when he had when I was Prime Minister and he was the leader of the PSOE.
But it took you three days to offer those three votes. Didn't you receive any kind of pressure?
I did not put any conditions, I just wanted to prevent the City Council from being, as Maragall had said, a tool of independence. There is no secret fraternity.
That decision caused the internal fracture of his group and the rupture with Ciudadanos...
The controversy was more with the leadership of Albert Rivera, who gave everything to the PP. I told them: I'm going to make a Valls. I do not request anything. I understand that it is very difficult to vote in favor of Colau if you criticize his municipal policy, but in Andalusia I had already said that the cordon sanitaire was valid for independence but also for Vox. This is politics and does not need any state operation or any trap. Things were very clear: Colau wanted to continue and did not want to depend on independence.
You were Minister of the Interior, do you think it plausible that the negotiations between Maragall and Colau were spied on by the CNI?
No. Any intelligence service acts when there is a danger to the integrity of a State, in the face of terrorism, organized crime... Those negotiations appeared in the press up to the minute. There was no secret of any kind.
Why do you think Maragall has then accused Colau of collusion with the CNI?
Because of the victimhood. It is his way of acting. He who is not an independentista is a facade, he is an agent of the State... The few meetings that took place between Maragall and Colau did not go well. Colau herself said it. They say that to provoke controversy and fuel conspiracy theories.
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