Think Locally...

Socialist Manuel Valls is taking on what he terms "the largest challenge confronting France today" — the modernization and integration of increasingly disparate sections of society. To do that, Valls is challenging many sacrosanct French political tenets with activist proposals to desegregate economically and ethnically defined banlieue populations and embrace "positive discrimination" for minority groups.

"Evry presents the essential urban challenges facing France: immigration, high unemployment, rising crime and deteriorating social relations," Valls says. "I'll have time later for higher-profile jobs at the national level. This is where I need to be now." His unconventional positions...